Thai chicken larb with toasted rice
This zesty, aromatic chicken is served in crispy lettuce cups– a wonderfully zingy summer supper!
Ingredients
- 100g /3½oz jasmine rice
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 stick lemongrass, finely chopped
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 500g/1lb 2oz chicken mince
- 2 limes, juice only
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
- 1 bunch coriander
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 1 iceburg lettuce, leaves separated
- handful mint leaves
- 8 shallots, thinly sliced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Grind the jasmine rice in a pestle and mortar to a powder. Set aside.
Smash the garlic, lemongrass and chilli to a paste in the pestle and mortar. Alternatively, blitz in a blender.
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the ground rice for 2–3 minutes. Add the lemongrass paste for 1 minute. Add the spring onion and chicken and stir, until coated in the paste.
Add the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, chilli flakes and kaffir lime leaves. Season with salt and pepper and fry, until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the coriander and basil leaves.
To serve, spoon the chicken into the lettuce leaves and garnish with the shallots, mint leaves and ground rice.