light-meals

Larb Gai

April 13

One of my favourite Thai salads is this minced chicken one (larb gai), which is full of fresh flavour from the mint leaves and lime juice. It can also be made with pork mince or a vegetarian mince alternative.

Serves 2
20 mins

Method

1. Toast the rice in a large dry frying pan over a medium-high heat, until golden brown. Transfer to a pestle and mortar and pound the rice – you are looking for a rough texture rather than a fine powder. Set aside.
2. Place the garlic, chilli and ginger in a food processor and whizz until finely minced. Add the chicken and pulse until smooth.
3. Heat the chicken stock in a large wok over a high heat, add the minced chicken and fry for 5 minutes, breaking the chicken up with a spatula as it cooks. Continue to cook until the chicken is cooked all the way through and is broken into small pieces.
4. Add the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and stir through, frying for another minute. Remove from the heat, add the spring onions, the mint & coriander, toasted rice and lime zest and fry for 1–2 minutes, until the spring onions are just tender.
5. Arrange the lettuce leaves on two plates and top with the chicken mixture. Garnish with extra mint & coriander leaves. Serve warm.

50g Thai sticky rice

60ml chicken stock

2 large, skinless chicken breasts (about 150g each), cut into large chunks

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled

1 tbsp sunfower oil

3 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)

1 tsp caster sugar

5 spring onions, finely chopped

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Generous handful of fresh mint & coriander leaves, roughly chopped

2 Little Gem lettuces, leaves separated

You'll Need

Frying pan

Pestle and mortar

Food processor

Large wok

If you liked this

This is very similar to a Thai green curry but it’s a lot lighter in terms of spices, sticking mainly with the fresh ingredients like ginger and lemongrass. I use Kaffir lime leaves here, which some supermarkets carry in the herb section, Asian markets are also bound to have them. Improvise with finely grated zest of lime. If you haven’t used lemongrass before it’s a fantastic little ingredient which is responsible for giving this dish that wonderful light and fragrant flavour. To prepare, slice off the woody ends and the root, you should be left with about 2-3 inches. If you don’t have a hand blender, just chop the paste ingredients until they’re as fine as you can get them.

main-meals
→

Simple & Quick Pad Thai

May 19

Rice noodles are a fantastic storecupboard ingredient and I regularly stock up at Asian markets where you can also buy jumbo sized bottles of Asian staples like fish sauce, soy sauce, and so much more. This dish is possibly one of the most famous Thai dishes and appears on menus throughout the world. Rightfully so, its a speedy dish full of deep layers of sweet and aromatic flavors.

light-meals
→

Private: Thai Beef and Mango Salad

May 03

I am addicted to really fresh and vibrant Asian flavours like the ones in this dish. People have mixed feelings about coriander, but I am a complete convert; it really enhances the taste of a dish like this. Don’t worry too much about having all the ingredients, and feel free to chop and change as you wish. Make sure to slice your beef as thinly as you can to make all the difference to every mouthful! Don’t panic about having all the right veggies – if you can get the steak and the dressing sorted, the rest can vary. Vegetarian Option: Rather than using beef, serve on top of cooked thin rice noodles, they will soak up all that delicious dressing.

light-meals