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!!

Thai Chicken Satay

Chicken Satay is a quick, delicious dinner that can easily impress all but the most discerning of dinner guests.

Its super simple to prepare. Buy a good pound or pound and a half of chicken breasts. Again, I prefer free range chicken, but sweatshop chicken will work just fine too :)

Slice the chicken breast in half width-wise, so you have two thinner breasts of the same size. Then cut them into slices. 

                                                                                   Thai Chicken Satay with roasted cauliflower and potato puree, wrapped in naan. 

Prepare the chicken marinade in a bowl. Marinade the chicken for at least 15 minutes, but the longer the better! 

In the meantime,  take bamboo skewers and soak them in water. This will make sure the chicken doesn't stick to the skewer when it is done or burn excessively when grilling. 

Skewer the chicken, then grill till they are cooked through and have the marks of the grill. 

You can serve this with Spicy Peanut Sauce and/or Thai chili sauce. It also works really well in a paratha or naan wrap, with fresh lettuce, mango chutney and roasted cauliflower and potato puree (pictured above). You can also have it will Yaki Miso Nasu (Grilled Miso Eggplant) (pictured below).

Marinade

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric

1 teaspoon minced garlic

pinch of ground coriander

pinch of ground cumin

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons coconut milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1.5 lbs chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

20 bamboo skewers, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes to prevent burning and stickiness

Accompaniments

Spicy Peanut Sauce

Spicy Chili Sauce

Spicy Peanut Sauce and/or Thai chili sauce

Yaki Miso Nasu (Grilled Miso Eggplant) and Chicken Satay