Thai Minced Chicken Salad (Larb Gai)

Thai Minced Chicken Salad on a white tray

3.95 from 36 votes

Thai Minced Chicken Salad (Larb Gai)

This herby, fragrant, beloved Thai salad (larb, laab, larb, laap) is great served on its own, or with other Thai dishes. You can serve it in lettuce wraps, in the traditional way with sticky rice, or over Jasmine rice with a fried egg on top.

This is a dish that is best made to taste. Start with the measurements below but adjust as you go. Add more fish sauce, more lime juice, more herbs, or more red pepper flakes to suit your tastes.

Want to adjust the servings in this recipe to make more or less? Just click on the number next to “servings” and you can easily scale the recipe.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: Entree Salad, fresh herb salad, homemade Thai, minced meat salad, salad recipe, Thai recipe, thai salad

Servings:

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef

Cost: $8.00

Equipment

Wok or Large Skillet

Ingredients

1 pound Ground Chicken
2 teaspoons Soy Sauce (preferably “Thin” Thai Soy Sauce, but any type of soy sauce will work)
1/2 cup thinly sliced Shallots
2 teaspoons Fish Sauce
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon Dried Red Pepper Flakes
2 stalks Lemongrass, finely chopped (just use the bottom 2 inches, outer leaves removed and discarded)
2 Makrut lime leaves, stems discarded, very thinly sliced (optional)
3/4 cup chopped Fresh Herbs (use a combination of fresh mint, cilantro, and green onions)
1 Tablespoon Toasted Rice Powder

Instructions

Heat a wok (or large skillet) over medium heat.
Add chicken and soy sauce to the heated wok (there is no need to add any oil for cooking the chicken). Saute chicken, breaking it apart as it cooks, until cooked all the way through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Turn the heat off under the chicken. Drain any excess liquid out of the pan.
While the chicken is still warm, stir in the shallots.
Set chicken aside and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes.
After chicken has cooled, stir in fish sauce, lime juice, dried red pepper flakes, lemongrass, lime leaves, fresh herbs, and toasted rice powder.

Notes

When chopping fresh herbs, use just the leaves of the fresh mint. Use the green and white parts of green onions. Use the leaves and stems of the cilantro. It’s best to use a combination of all three of these herbs, but you can skip one if needed, making sure that you still have a total of 3/4 cup chopped fresh herbs.

Toasted Rice Powder is easy to make yourself. See this post on How to Make Toasted Rice Powder.

If making the larb ahead, add all ingredients except fresh herbs and toasted rice powder. Stir these ingredients in just before serving.

Nutrition