Minty Thai Chicken Salad

When I was traveling in Northern Thailand and in Vietnam, I had a delicious minty chicken salad. It was delectable and served cool, which was very nice since it was so hot. This is a variation on a traditional dish called larb, which is served often in Thailand and Laos. This dish works wonders if you spoon the mixture into a nice fresh romaine lettuce or cabbage leaf and eat it like a sandwich. It also works really well poured over a bowl of freshly cooked noodles.

This recipe is from Mai Pham, The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking, which I highly recommend for anyone who loves Thai and Vietnamese food! Mai Pham also has a restaurant in Sacramento, which I had the extreme pleasure of visiting one time! Its definitely a great place to eat!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dried chili flakes, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2/3 lbs chicken breast, minced
2 teaspoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 1 lime squeezed)
1/2 small yellow onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced lemongrass
3 kaffir lime leaves, cut into fine slivers
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves (or lime-mint if you have it)
4-6 red lettuce leaves
12 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 serving of teuchi men (freshly cooked noodles)

I have made this dish a few times, and I find the addition of lime-mint (as opposed to regular mint) to give this dish a much more tangy & robust flavor profile. The lime-mint also adds an interesting textural element that is lacking in the traditional mint. I have a bush of lime-mint growing in my backyard garden! Look at the size of it! It grows quickly like mint. Doesn't it look fantastic?! This huge plant all came from one small single stem of mint leaf that my fiancee got. I grew it in a glass jar before it got roots and then planted it!

One more tip that I learned from this dish. Fresh lemongrass really helps! Fortunately, I also have fresh lemongrass growing in my backyard! Previously, when I made this dish, I would get the lemongrass at the grocery store. At the store, they never have the blades of lemongrass, just the root. The root works fine in this recipe, but if you can get hold of some fresh blades of lemongrass, it really punches up this dish to a whole new level!










Heat oil in a wok. Add the chili flakes and paprika. Stir for 5 seconds. Add chicken, brown sugar and fish sauce. Increase heat to medium. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken turns white. Transfer the chicken (but not the juices) to a mixing bowl.

Add lime juice, onion, lemon grass, lime leaves tomatoes and mint and gently toss. Garnish with a little cilantro.

To serve, take a lettuce leaf and use it as a bowl, pouring the mixture in the leaf. Fold the leaf over and pop it into your mouth! Delicious! Also, you have serve it over homemade noodles (see link above).

Enjoy!!

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