Thai Chicken Salad
Ingredients
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- 2 tablespoons glutinous rice (uncooked) – toasted and ground into rice powder
- 1 teaspoons dried Thai chili flakes
- 1 pounds ground chicken
- 1/4 cups water
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 cups shallots – thinly sliced (~1.5 medium shallots)
- 1/2 cups scallions – thinly sliced (~2.5 n/a green onions)
- 1/2 cups fresh mint leaves – coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cups fresh cilantro leaves – coarsely chopped
- cabbage – cut into wedges (for serving)
- cucumber – sliced (for serving)
- steamed sticky rice – for serving
Instructions
1. Make toasted rice powder: Add the glutinous rice to a dry skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until deeply golden and fragrant, 8–10 minutes. Cool completely, then grind to a coarse powder in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
2. Prep the aromatics and herbs: Thinly slice the shallots and scallions, and coarsely chop the mint and cilantro. Set aside. Prepare the cabbage wedges and cucumber slices for serving.
3. Cook the chicken: Heat a wide skillet over medium-high. Add the ground chicken and water and cook, breaking up the meat, until just cooked through with no pink remaining, 4–6 minutes.
4. Season while warm: Remove the pan from the heat and add the fish sauce, lime juice, granulated sugar, and dried Thai chili flakes. Toss until the chicken is evenly coated.
5. Thicken and perfume: Sprinkle in about 1.5 tablespoons of the toasted rice powder and toss until slightly thickened and glossy, 30–60 seconds.
6. Add fresh crunch: Fold in the sliced shallots and scallions, then gently mix in the mint and cilantro. The residual warmth should barely wilt the herbs.
7. Adjust and rest: Taste and adjust with a touch more fish sauce for salt or lime juice for brightness. Let the salad stand 2 minutes to meld.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature with cabbage wedges, cucumber slices, and steamed sticky rice.
Thai Chicken Salad, known in Thailand as larb gai, is a vibrant, warm salad that balances bright lime, savory fish sauce, chile heat, and the nutty perfume of toasted rice powder. The texture contrasts are key: tender minced chicken, crisp raw shallots and scallions, and a faint crunch from the rice powder that lightly thickens the juices. Fresh mint and cilantro lift the whole dish, making it aromatic and refreshing while still satisfying enough to eat as a main with sticky rice.
Originating in the northeastern Isan region and closely related to Laotian laap, larb has long been a celebratory yet everyday dish, paired with raw vegetables and sticky rice. As it spread throughout Thailand, chicken became a common variation alongside pork and duck, but the core identity stayed the same: meat seasoned while warm, tossed with herbs, lime, fish sauce, chilies, and khao khua (toasted sticky rice powder). Today it’s a staple of Thai dining, noted for its interplay of sour, salty, spicy, and herbal elements and its communal, shareable style of eating.