Thai Fried Chicken Larb
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Thai fried chicken larb is a unique twist on the traditional Thai salad. The combo of fish sauce, toasted rice powder, fresh herbs, and red pepper flakes make a delicious dish that’ll leave everyone at the dinner table satisfied. The addition of crispy flour and bite-sized pieces of chicken add a crunchy texture and open a new world of Thai flavors!
Leftover fried chicken
Yesterday, my hubby and I enjoyed a tasty green papaya salad with some fried chicken and sticky rice. The portions were too large for the two of us, so we had some leftovers for today.
So, today I saw the leftover fried chicken laying in the fridge, and I suddenly got the idea of making Thai fried chicken larb for the first time! I took a stroll in our vegetable garden and plucked some coriander and mint, luckily we had everything in stock.
The taste from the traditional recipe was way different, but it was so-incredibly-good!
What is Thai fried chicken larb
Larb is a flavorful and easy to prepare Thai salad that typically includes ground pork, chicken, or beef. Along with ground meat, it has fresh herbs and spices, with various sauces that make a refreshing and savory dish.
An authentic larb should include mint, coriander, lime, and shallots.
In this unique recipe, I substituted the ground meat with fried chicken.
Toasted rice powder
For this recipe, you’ll need a Thai cooking ingredient called “toasted rice powder“. Toasted rice powder can easily be prepared by pan roasting raw sticky rice and then crushing it into a fine grind.
The end result is a toasty, nutty, and crunchy grind or coarse powder.
Dried chili flakes
Adding some heat to your salad is easy with these dried chili flakes. To make them, all you need are dried chili pepper and a mortar and pestle to grind them into flakes.
Substitutions and variations
This larb recipe is versatile!
- It can be prepared with any meat of your choice! Using regular chicken (laab gai in Thai language) or larb moo (pork) are some of the most popular and traditional ways to eat this Thai salad. In Thailand, we also like to have it with minced beef or fish. In Isan, we even enjoy it with raw beef, it’s a regional delicacy!
- Make the salad saltier by adding 0.5 teaspoon of fish sauce. Do not add too much at once because the flavor of fish sauce is really strong!
- Adding more or less lime juice will affect the sourness.
- Spice up your meal by increasing the amount of dried chili flakes! If you are having this meal with kids, I suggest leaving the chilies out.
Ingredients
All ingredients you need are available in Asian grocery stores.
- KFC fried chicken – You can substitute for any meat of your personal preference!
- Fish sauce – Fish sauce adds umami to your dishes and brings a salty Thai flavor to the salad.
- Toasted rice powder / glutinous rice powder
- Dried chili flakes
- White sugar – The sweet flavor in this dish comes from the sugar.
- Shallots – Shallots are a main ingredient in larb, slice them as thin as possible.
- Lime – Lime juice for the sour taste.
- Fresh mint – Mint leaves are a key ingredient for making an authentic larb.
- Fresh coriander – Another necessary herb in a traditional Thai salad.
Step-by-step instructions
Making this recipe is VERY easy! The prep time is just 5 minutes, and there is NO cooking involved!
If you are using a substitute meat, for example ground chicken, just cook the meat with a few tablespoons of water until and then continue with the recipe.
-
Finely chop shallots.
Cut the chicken in bite-sized pieces.
Pluck the coriander and mint leaves.
-
Add lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, toasted rice powder, dried chili flakes in a large bowl and mix.
-
Then, add shallots, coriander, mint leaves, and fried chicken. Gently mix everything together with a spoon. Serve immediately.
Recipe notes
- This recipe uses leftovers from my KFC fried chicken recipe. You can also fry some fresh chicken breast without any flavoring if you’re in a hurry, just let it cool down before continuing with this recipe.
- Adjust the amount of chili to your taste level.
How to serve
Thai larb is best combined with a portion of white rice, either regular rice or sticky rice. In Isan we always enjoy it with sticky rice!
Adding raw vegetables like green onions, green beans or Thai eggplants is a great way to make this Thai salad taste even better. If you have any lettuce lying around, you can even wrap some larb in them to make lettuce cups or lettuce wraps.
How to store
Let your meal cool down to room temperature and then transfer it to an airtight container. You can keep it in your refrigerator for up to 3 days, but the texture and flavor from fried chicken will change.
More Thai salads you’ll love
- Authentic Thai pork larb recipe (Experience an authentic Isan salad, this is my go-to recipe!)
- Grilled beef salad (Nam tok neua is one of my favorites, incredibly flavorful and fresh!)
- Thai long bean salad (An incredibly simple but tasty recipe.)
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Thai Fried Chicken Larb
Description
A unique way to eat one of the best Thai salads; crunchy fried chicken with authentic Thai flavors.
Ingredients
Instructions
-
Finely chop shallots.
Cut the chicken in bite-sized pieces.
Pluck the coriander and mint leaves. -
Add lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, toasted rice powder, dried chili flakes in a large bowl and mix.
-
Then, add shallots, coriander, mint leaves, and fried chicken. Gently mix everything together with a spoon. Serve immediately.
Servings 2
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 326kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 10.9g17%
- Saturated Fat 3g15%
- Total Carbohydrate 14.2g5%
- Dietary Fiber 0.2g1%
- Sugars 3.4g
- Protein 35g70%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
- Use the nutrition card in this recipe as a guideline.
- This recipe uses leftovers from my KFC fried chicken recipe. You can also fry some fresh chicken breast without any flavoring if you're in a hurry, just let it cool down before continuing with this recipe.
- Adjust the amount of chili to your taste level.
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