Mint Chicken Salad (Laab Gai) ลาบไก่

   This is a popular salad at parties.  It's spicy and goes good with a cold drink.  We like to eat it with "sticky rice".  I'll do a post on sticky rice later & show a quick and easy way to prepare it with a microwave.  

   This recipe has more preparation time than the previous recipes I've posted.  Some of the items (lemon grass and galanga) might only be available in an Asian market.   I hope you try it.  It's worth it. :)

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of ground chicken (I buy boneless chicken and grind it in a food processor.)
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro (I include the stems, but you may want to just use the leaves.)
1/4 cup of chopped green onions.
1/4 cup of chopped mint
1 tbsp. of vegetable oil
3 tbsp. of lime juice
2 tbsp. of fish sauce
1 tbsp. of sugar
1 tbsp. of roasted ground chili pepper (You can substitute with chopped fresh chili peppers.)
2 tbsp. of roasted ground rice  (I take dry rice, toast it in a pan until golden brown, & grind it with a food processor or a mortar & pestle.) 
1/2 cup of chopped shallots (Half will be used to make the salad paste.  The rest will be mixed in with the salad.)
1 tbsp. of lemon grass (I use the white part of a stem.)
1 tbsp. of galanga  (You might have to look in an Asian market for this, but it can be left out of the recipe.)
4 cloves of garlic  

Directions:  

   First, we have to make the paste.   Roast the stem of lemon grass, galanga, garlic, and 1/4 cup of shallots.  I put these items in tin foil and set on a burner for 1 to 2 minutes.  Then I grind them in a food processor or with a mortar & pestle.  

  Next, put the vegetable oil in a pan, add the chicken, and cook thoroughly.  Set aside.

   In a big bowl, we'll combine the paste, cooked ground chicken, and the rest of the ingredients.  Stir them together.  Serve with a slice of fresh green cabbage and white rice or sticky rice.

  Sorry.  This recipe is a bit long, but there's an easier way.  At an Asian market, look for a packet of laab-namtok powder.  There are several brands (Lobo, RosDee).  Here's a picture of a 30 gram packet of RosDee's laab-namtok powder.  The Lobo packets I've seen are larger.  If so, you'll probably want to add half of it because this powder is spicy.

  If you find this packet, here's the only ingredients you'll need.

1/2 pound of ground chicken
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro 
1/4 cup of chopped green onions.
1/4 cup of chopped mint
1 tbsp. of vegetable oil
1/4 cup of chopped shallots 

  Cook the chicken as discussed above.  In a bowl, add the cooked chicken, laab-namtok powder an the rest of the ingredients.  Stir and serve.  This packet saves a lot of work.  You can add lime juice or fish sauce to fit your taste.  :)