Chicken Larb Salad with Red Cabbage

This chicken larb salad is like Pop Rocks Candy with layers of textures and amazing punchy flavours that unravel in your mouth with each bite. Originating in Laos and evolving through neighbouring cuisines, this salad is made with different types of minced meat, fish sauce, lots of fresh lime juice, chilli and raw vegetables. Herbs like coriander, Thai basil, and mint can be tossed through the salad.

I usually make my larb with chicken and lots of fresh vegetables I have on hand. The recipe calls for some ingredients you might not usually have in your shopping basket, like lemongrass or coconut aminos, but they are very easy to find in specialty stores and online. I do suggest having some fish sauce and tamari wheat-free or gluten free, naturally brewed soy sauce in your pantry – I find I use them in a lot of dishes. Coconut aminos is a sauce made from coconut sap, it has a slightly sweet flavour and resembles soy sauce. You can read more about it here.

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken :

• 450 g / 1lb ground chicken mince
• Zest of 1/2 lime, grated
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• 1 tbs tamari wheat -free soy sauce, or other gluten free, naturally brewed soy sauce (or replace with extra coconut aminos)
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1 long red chilli, finely diced with the seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
• Small nob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced
• 1 stem lemon grass, pale section only, finely diced
• 1/2 bunch of coriander/cilantro stems washed and finely chopped (I don’t waste anything, save the leaves for the salad)
• Coconut oil for frying (about 3 tablespoons)
• If you have it, a few leaves of kaffir lime leaves chopped up are also a nice addition

For the salad :

• 1/4 cup chopped green spring onions (about 2 spring onions/scallions)
• 1/2 bunch of fresh coriander leaves (saved from the stems used in the chicken)
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• A handful of fresh mint or Thai basil if available
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup crashed roasted cashews or some sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes (optional for garnish)
• 1/4 head of red cabbage, thinly shredded (white is also fine)
• 1/2 cup dried fried shallots (optional for garnish, available from Asian grocers)

For the dressing :

• 1 teaspoon grated palm sugar or 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or tamari sauce
• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped (you can leave it out if you like it mild)
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. put together the elements for the chook. Then warmth 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a massive frying pan or a wok over high warmth. Throw in lemongrass, chili, garlic, ginger and coriander stems and stir fry for approximately a minute until fragrant.
2. add the bird mince and lime zest. Stir and wreck apart the mince with a wooden blending spoon until separated into small chunks (this could take some time as hen mince is quite sticky). the meat will now be changing to white shade. add the fish sauce, coconut aminos, tamari and lime juice. Stir thru and cook for a further short time. total cooking time for the bird need to be about 10 minutes.
3. prepare the salad base by way of blending together the crimson cabbage, onion, grated carrot, and clean herbs.
4. Whisk collectively the dressing elements and toss via the salad.
5. Serve the cooked fowl mince on pinnacle of the dressed salad and crowned with roasted cashews, dried shallots, coconut flakes and further fresh herbs. I frequently simply mix the whole lot collectively