Isan Style Chicken Laap

Ian Benites

Spicy northeastern Thai salad of ground chicken and herbs.

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 20

Course Main Course

Servings 2 people

200 grams chicken thigh and leg meat one chicken leg and thigh
50 grams fresh chicken liver about one chicken liver
7-8 Tbsp chicken stock (or water)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 gram makrut lime leaves (optional) about 6 leaves
2 tsp garlicky chicken fat (reserved from making the crispy garlic and chicken skin topping)
1/2 tsp sugar
1.5 Tbsp toasted chili powder ( Arbol chili works well) recipe linked above
4 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 Tbsp toasted rice powder,plus a pinch for sprinkling on top recipe linked above
60 grams shallot about 2 medium shallots
15 grams roughly chopped cilantro about 1/2 cup chopped
30 grams thinly sliced scallion about 2 scallions
10 grams roughly torn fresh mint leaves about 1 loose cup leaves
10 grams sawtooth herb AKA culantro (optional) about 6 leaves
2-3 toasted dry arbol chilis for garnish (optional)

Roughly chop the chicken skin, set aside
Chop the garlic
Place chopped garlic in a cup of very hot tap water and allow to rest for 10 minutes (this will make the fried garlic a bit less pungent after frying)
Strain garlic from water and pat dry using paper towels, set garlic aside.
Place chicken skin in a small pot with 1.2 Tbsp oil. Turn heat to medium low.
Cook chicken skins over medium-low heat while stirring until skins start to lightly brown and get crispy. About 5-10 minutes. Turn down heat if skins are getting too dark.
Strain out crispy skins and lay on paper towls. Season lightly with salt. Keep the rendered chicken fat in the pot.
Let chicken fat cool down a bit and then add the garlic that you prepared earlier.
Turn heat up to medium and cook until garlic starts to sizzle. Once sizzling, turn heat down to medium low and cook while stirring. You can also use a thermometer and try to maintain around 300 Fahrenheit, no hotter than 315.
Cook garlic until garlic has lightly browned and the sizzling has subsided
Strain out crispy garlic and mix with crispy chicken skin, season with a touch more salt. Reserve the garlicky chicken fat to mix into laap later.

Slice the shallots and set aside
Slice the sawtooth herb (culantro) and mix with the torn mint leaves, chopped cilantro and sliced scallion. Set aside herbs.
Chop the chicken thigh and leg meat by hand. It should be slightly coarser than store bought ground chicken. Set aside
Chop the chicken liver in the same way. Set aside
Roughly tear the makrut lime leaves and set aside

Place chicken stock (or water), chopped chicken and chicken liver into a small pot.
Turn heat up to medium high and start to cook meat while stirring. Season with the 1/4 tsp. salt while cooking. There should be some liquid at the bottom of the pot after cooking.
Once chicken is just cooked through, turn off the heat and stir in the torn makrut lime leaves.
Off the heat, add the rest of the ingredients to the pot in the order shown in the recipe list. Stir a few times to combine and taste. Herbs should wilt slightly but still maintain some structure. If necessary adjust seasoning now. Laap should have a little bit of liquid seeping out of the bottom, if too dry, add a touch more stock or water.
Spoon laap onto a plate and sprinkle with the crispy garlic and chicken skin topping, a bit of toasted rice powder and garnish with a few optional toasted arbol chilis.