10 oz Boneless, skinless chicken
-breast
2 c Chicken broth
1 ts Red chili powder
4 tb Fresh lime juice
4 tb Fish sauce (nuoc mam) *
3/4 ts Sugar
2 tb Scallions; diced, heaping
2 tb Fresh cilantro; chopped
-heaping
1 sm Red onion; thinly sliced
15 Fresh mint leaves; 10
-chopped, 5 to garnish
1 ts Rice powder **
2 c Lettuce; chopped, + whole
-leaves for the serving
-plate
2 Carrots; chopped
1 c Napa cabbage; julienned
4 oz Haricots verts or other very
-thin string beans; briefly
-cooked and cooled
1/2 c Cucumber; chopped
1/2 c Tomatoes; chopped (optional)
So what do baseball fans call this salad? The Thai Cobb, of
course. A weak joke, but a spicy, refreshing salad from the Thai
restaurant Duangrat's in Falls Church. Owner Pookie Duangrat took
larb, a traditional Thai chopped-meat dish served with lettuce
and carrots, and expanded it with the addition of Napa cabbage,
string beans, cucumbers and, if you wish, tomatoes.
Cook the chicken breast in simmering broth until the meat is
cooked through. Remove the chicken from the liquid, let it cool
briefly, then chop into uniform pieces. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the chili powder, lime juice, fish
sauce and sugar, stirring until mixed. Add the chicken pieces,
the scallions, cilantro, red onion, chopped mint leaves and rice
powder; toss to mix well.
Line a serving plate with lettuce leaves. Place the chicken
pieces in the center of the plate and arrange around them the
chopped lettuce, carrots, cabbage, string beans, cucumbers and
tomatoes, if using. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve at room
temperature.
Note: Nuoc mam (or nam pla) is available in Asian markets.
Note: Rice powder is available in Asian markets, or you can make
your own by roasting uncooked rice and then reducing it to a
powder in a food processor.
Per serving: 319 calories, 38 g protein, 32 g carbs,
5 g fat, 86 mg cholesterol, 1 g saturated fat, 1978 mg Na,
6 g dietary fiber
