Recipe: Thai Spicy Ground Chicken and Toasted Rice (Larb Gai)

Thai Spicy Ground Chicken and Toasted Rice (Larb Gai)

2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice
2 to 3 tablespoons chicken stock
2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce
4 to 6 teaspoons ground red chilis (not to be substituted with "chilli powder" as sold in western supermarkets!)
1 tablespoon khao koor (ground toasted rice--see below)
3 to 4 shallots (small purple or red onions) chopped
half a stalk of lemongrass very thinly sliced
3 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 to 2 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced
1 teaspoon powdered galangal
4 ounces of chicken

Khao Koor:
Get a medium sized wok fairly hot, and add a couple of tablespoons of uncooked jasmine rice. Keep in movement until the rice starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Grind to a fairly coarse powder in a spice mill, or a mortar and pestle, or a pepper mill or a good clean coffee grinder (all of these work well but keep in mind that a coffee grinder tends to grind too fine--the powder should retain some "texture"). We also offer ready-made Khao Koor in premium quality Hand Brand.

Garnish:
lettuce, parlsey, sliced raddish and turnip, coriander leaves.

Line a serving dish with the lettuce leaves. Chop the chicken to make it similar consistency as ground beef (can be done in a food processor or with two cleavers). In a fairly high wok with a very small amount of oil, stir fry the chicken until it just starts to turn whitish, then add all the remaining ingredients (if using precooked meat, simply add everything to a hot wok together), and stir until heated through and the chicken is cooked.

Serve on the bed of lettuce leaves and garnish to taste. Serve with steamed sticky rice (if you prefer you can use Thai jasmine rice and a dish of mixed [raw] fresh vegetables, and the usual Thai table condiments.

The usual way to eat this is to take a small ball of sticky rice in the fingers and use it to pick up a little lawb, then eat it with the raw veggies. You can also use a fork and spoon as a lot of Thais do.