February 1, 2012 was the 10th Annual National Wear Red Day, supporting the American Heart Association’s fight against heart disease in women. Both my mother and one of my best friends, Pam are survivors of heart disease. In honor of my mother and Pam, I am wearing red and sharing with you a heart healthy recipe, My Mother’s Chicken Larb. This Thai appetizer is a healthy and easy to prepare finger food for Super Bowl Sunday!
Note: The authentic Thai recipe includes chopped cilantro and mint which you may want to add. I like to keep it simple and use as few ingredients as possible so I usually omit these 2 ingredients.
Pam’s story:
My first video walking you through how to prepare My Mother’s Chicken Larb:
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoon toasted raw rice
- 1 pound of ground chicken
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- chicken broth*
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce*
- 4 tablespoons of sliced scallion/green onion (both the green and white parts)
- 1 teaspoon of grated galangal
- ½ cup finely chopped onion (I prefer a milder white onion but my mother uses a red onion)
- 2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- red pepper flakes to taste (I like 1/2 teaspoon)
- 1 finely diced sweet red bell pepper
- iceberg lettuce, rinsed and leaves separated
* NOTE: If you are a gluten-free diet, ensure that the ingredients you are using are gluten-free.
Directions:
Toast raw rice in oven until lightly brown. Place in plastic bag and break the rice grains with a mallet. Set aside.
Cook chicken over medium heat with just enough oil to coat the plan. Separate the chicken meat into small pieces while cooking. If the chicken appears to be dry, add a splash of chicken broth to moisten.
Add the lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, scallions, galangal, chopped onion, garlic and red pepper flake. Cook for 5 additional minutes.
Turn off heat and combine red bell pepper.
Place spoonful of larb onto iceberg lettuce leaves and sprinkle with toasted rice.
The Hungry Athlete 
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