Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups (Laab Gai)

The tastiest mouthfuls ever.  The lime and mint flavour from these Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups just explodes in your mouth!

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Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups

Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups – coriander and mint-flavoured chicken, spiced with chilli and red onion, sprinkled with peanuts and wrapped in lettuce leaves.  You won’t find a more flavoursome mouthful anywhere.  Guaranteed.

You can serve this as an appetiser, by wrapping the chicken in a lettuce leaf.  If you prefer, you could serve the chicken as a main meal on a bed of fragrant jasmine rice.  Either way, you have a winning combination.

The original Thai name for this chicken dish is Laab, or Larb. Made with chicken it is known as Laab Gai.  If it is made with pork it is called Laab Moo, or made with duck it is known as Laab Ped.

My introduction to Thai Laab

I was first introduced to Thai Laab at a new Thai restaurant which opened in Johannesburg, back in the late ’80s.   It was served as a starter, and we were presented with numerous small dishes, containing peanuts, chilli sauce, garlic, chopped coriander, chopped mint, lime slices, and various other sauces.  As I recall, there was no meat with that dish, we were just given a large bowl of white rice.  We were told to take a lettuce leaf, add a spoonful of rice and add a mixture of whatever we fancied from the small bowls.  Then we had to wrap it into a ball and put the entire thing into our mouths.  It was one of the most delicious things I had ever eaten.  We ordered a second helping.

I’ve made it many times at home since.  Over the years I’ve seen many recipes that I have combined and adapted to make this version.  It has evolved to include minced chicken (as per the original Thai version) and most of the ingredients have made their way into the actual chicken itself rather than being served in separate dishes.

Authentic Laab Gai uses toasted rice ground to a fine powder, as a thickening agent, which adds an additional depth of flavour to the dish.   I have chosen to use cornflour to thicken my version, but if you want to use original Thai ground rice, you can get the recipe here.

Ingredients for Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups

To make Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups you will need the following ingredients. You can get the exact measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Chicken

• Chicken Breasts – I like to mince my own in a food processor, but you could use the equivalent amount of pre-bought minced chicken.
• Ginger Paste or use the equivalent amount of fresh grated ginger
• Garlic (very finely minced)
• Lemon Juice for a fresh flavour
• Chilli flakes for a little bit of heat
• Fresh Coriander (chopped)
• Fresh Mint (chopped)
• Peanuts (finely chopped) salted are fine (peanuts are optional but give an authentic taste)
• Red onion (very finely chopped)
• Olive Oil for frying the chicken
• Baby Gem or equivalent Lettuce Leaves for serving
• Salt to taste for the chicken

Sauce

• ½ cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
• 2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cornflour

How to make Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups

Preparation

• Place the chicken breasts in a food processor and pulse briefly until the chicken is coarsely chopped.
• Don’t overpulse or you will end up with a chicken paste. Set the chicken aside while you make the sauce.
• Mix all the ingredients for the sauce , give it a stir to dissolve the sugar, and put aside while you fry the chicken.

Cooking steps

• Heat the olive oil in a small wok and gently fry the garlic and ginger to soften slightly.  Don’t allow it to brown or it will become bitter. 
• Add the chicken and stir-fry until the chicken has separated and turned white and crumbly.  Season with salt to taste.
• Now add the lemon juice, chilli flakes, red onion, coriander, and mint leaves and stir through.
• Finally, give the sauce ingredients a stir and add to the chicken. Allow to simmer gently, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened.

Serve

• Spoon the chicken into a serving bowl and serve with a plate of lettuce leaves, and a bowl of crushed peanuts. 
• The traditional way to eat laab gai is to wrap a spoonful of chicken and a sprinkling of peanuts into the lettuce leaf. To make the meal more substantial, it could be accompanied by a bowl of sticky rice.

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Recipe – Thai Lettuce Cups

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