This is a fantastic Warm Chicken Salad Recipe, or Laab Gai in Thai.  Basically its a minced chicken salad that is served warm and it’s a very popular Thai salad recipe served all over Thailand not just the North. See below for more information on Isaan Food

It is unusual in several ways but the most noticeable (apart from being warm) is the texture, is has a lovely grainy feel which is provided by the freshly ground Toasted Rice, this soaks up the watery cooking stock to provide a wonderful depth of flavour which compliments and supports the highs of the sour lime and spicy chilli powder which is all rounded off to perfection with lots of fresh mint.

The recipe originates from the Isaan region of Northern Thailand.

Isaan Food

The primary food of Isaan people is sticky rice which is eaten with the fingers. This is supplemented with various other dishes such as this Laab Gai recipe in fact.  In addition to standard Thai vegetables, they eat the leaves of many trees, so are most water plants. These dishes often have a large amount of chillies, making them extremely spicy.  (Too spicy in this writers opinion, all heat and little flavour.)

Protein foods are the most expensive and for this reason eaten the least. Beef is seldom part of the menu. Fish they catch themsleves, pork and home grown chicken are fairly common and often eaten in small pieces with sticky rice. Other sources of protein are snakes, frogs, rats and many types of insects.

You rarely find calcium in the diet since milk, cheese and other dairy products are not used. Many women suffer from osteoporosis as a result of this.

There is no distinction between the dishes eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Spicey stir friend vegetables with sticky rice are just as likely to be eaten in the morning as in the evening.

Water, beer or other soft drinks  the drink of choice with meals.

************************

Now if you are a bit new to Thai cooking, if you are a regular “Thai Foodie” or even a seasoned chef, you’re going to learn something from Khwanjai’s Thai Cooking Classes Sign up for Khwanjai’s Trial Thai Cooking Classes Your first step to mastering Thai food, it’s a 7 recipe Banquet course plus a few secret bonus’s

You can also sign up for Khwanjai’s Cooking Classes Online here http://thaifood-tv.com/thai-cooking-classes/

Warmest Regards
Jules and ‘er Ladyship

Click here for The Laab Gai Recipe full version

Below is a basic, abbreviated version of the recipe together with this tiddly video trailer

Laab Gai Recipe
(Warm Chicken Salad)
How to Make Thai Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
chicken including liver
shallots
mint
scallions
cilantro
lime
toasted rice
fish sauce
chilli powder
water
stock

Prepare:
marinade the chicken in lime juice for
cut veggies scallions and cilantro
slice shallots
take mint leaves from stems

Cooking:
simmer chicken livers for ten minutes, remove and slice
cook the marinaded chicken simmer until cooked
add the sliced liver for the last 30 seconds

The Salad:
pour in the contents of the wok into large bowl
add some lime juice fish sauce and chicken stock powder
now add ground toasted rice and chilli powder
next up are the sliced shallots
last ones, scallions,cilantro and mint

You Just learned how to make Gai Laab

Serving Ideas:
Serve onto a bed of lettuce with a huge side plate of salad vegetables with and either hot Jasmine Rice or in true Isaan style -Sticky Rice.  This would normally be served with a barbecued dish such as BBQ Spare Ribs of Pork One Sun plus you would probably have another salad to go with it such as Som Tam (Spicy Green Papaya Salad) and BBQ Fish with its delicious special Spicy Sour Sweet Peanut Sauce