Larb – Laotian Chicken Mince

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup uncooked long grain white rice
• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced galangal
• 2 small red chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon shrimp paste
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup lime juice

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread the rice onto a baking sheet.

Bake the rice in the preheated oven until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Once cooled, grind into a fine powder with a spice grinder. Meanwhile, grind the chicken thigh meat in a food processor until finely ground; set aside.

Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, galangal, chile peppers, and green onions; cook and stir until the garlic softens, about 3 minutes. Add the ground chicken thigh meat, and cook, stirring constantly to break up lumps, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Season with fish sauce, shrimp paste, and sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the excess liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the ground rice, mint, basil, and lime juice to serve.