Thai Chicken Larb with Sticky Rice

Name: Thai Chicken Larb with Sticky Rice
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1¼ lb boneless chicken thighs, finely chopped (or ground chicken); 1½ cups glutinous rice, plus 2 tbsp for toasting; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 4 limes, juiced; ½ red onion, thinly sliced; 1 package fresh mint, leaves picked; ½ bunch cilantro, chopped; 4 green onions, sliced; 1 romaine heart, leaves separated; ½ cucumber, sliced; 1 tbsp oil; 1 tsp sugar; 1 to 2 tsp chili flakes

LunchThai40 minServes 4525 kcal35 g protein

Photo: Alpha from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

Juicy minced chicken tossed with lime, fish sauce, chiles, a fistful of herbs and nutty toasted rice powder, scooped up with sticky rice and crisp lettuce.

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Ingredients

1¼ lb boneless chicken thighs, finely chopped (or ground chicken)
1½ cups glutinous rice, plus 2 tbsp for toasting
3 tbsp fish sauce
4 limes, juiced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 package fresh mint, leaves picked
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, sliced
1 romaine heart, leaves separated
½ cucumber, sliced

From your pantry: 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp sugar, 1 to 2 tsp chili flakes.

Instructions

Soak the 1½ cups sticky rice in cold water for at least 30 minutes (or overnight). Drain and steam in a cheesecloth-lined steamer basket over boiling water until chewy and translucent, 20 to 25 minutes.
Toast the extra 2 tbsp of dry rice in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking often, until deep golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Cool, then grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or mortar.
Cook the chicken with the oil and 3 tbsp water in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it up, until cooked through and no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes.
Toss the warm chicken with the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, chili flakes and red onion, then fold in the herbs and 1½ tbsp of the rice powder. Taste: it should be sour, salty and spicy.
Sprinkle with the remaining rice powder and serve with the sticky rice, lettuce leaves and cucumber.

Tip: No steamer? Microwave the soaked, drained rice with ½ cup water in a covered bowl for 3 minutes, stir, then cook in 2-minute bursts until translucent.