Ginger Cilantro Chicken Salad-my version of Thai Larb

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I like Thai food. Funny, but until about 5 years ago, I hadn't really tried it.  I grew up in a smaller town and I don't think there was anything outside of the usual Mexican, Italian an Chinese places.  Now I eat Thai quite often..although whenever they ask how spicy, I say "not spicy at all"--which is usually PLENTY spicy for me (and I like spicy Mexican food, but wow, Thai spicy is another scale).  Anyway, aside from Pad Thai, Green Curry and Massaman Curry, one of my favorites is Larb, a type of salad--which I think is pronounced without the "r".  I had some last night at Thai Siam, one of my favorite places, where they serve it lettuce wrap style.  I decided to try it out at home and used this recipe as my guide.

I ended up just making a big salad, rather than as wraps, and I didn't cook the sticky rice that would accompany it, but I sure did enjoy it!

Marinade and salad dressing base:
You'll mix this up and then reserve part of it to use for the marinade and the other part for the dressing.

1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/4 c. canola oil
2 Tbs finely diced fresh ginger (this is the secret ingredient, its about 2 inches of ginger root)
2 Tbs Hoisin sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha sauce-want more spice? add 1 Tbs instead

--Mix all the above together.  Take 4 Tbs out and save it for the marinade--

Now add the last three ingredients and you've got the salad dressing made.
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
3 green onions, chopped including most of the green parts
1 Tbs sugar (optional, or use a packet of artificial sweetener)

Marinate 1 large chicken breast with the 4 Tbs of reserved sauce in a zipper bag.  I pounded the chicken flat so it would cook nice and fast.

Get the salad ready:
1/2 of a large head of Nappa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 4-5 cups)
1-2 carrots, shredded
2-3 radishes, sliced
1/2-2/3 cups of cilantro (remove stems, roughly chop)
toasted sliced almonds
toasted sesame seeds
fresh mint leaves (optional...larb has it, but I just used extra cilantro instead)

Once you've marinaded the chicken for about 30 minutes, place it in a heated skillet with a bit of oil.  Cook each side for about 4 minutes on med-low or until the thermometer reads 180.  Remove from pan and let rest while you mix up the salad.

In a bowl put the cabbage, carrot, radishes, cilantro.  Toss with the dressing.  Slice up the chicken and place on top and sprinkle with the almonds and sesame seeds.

If you are serving this as a main dish salad, it serves two.  If you are doing it as larb or a side dish you can probably get 4-6 servings.  If you are going to do it like larb, then chop up everything much smaller and serve with some pieces of romaine lettuce and sticky rice to make wraps. 

Chile Lime Flank Steak and Cilantro Potato Salad

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For the 4th of July I tried out something new for the grill, and it was YUMMY!  Total time from start to eating was about 60 minutes.  The recipe was one I tore out of my Better Homes and Gardens magazine, May 2012 Pg 168.

Flank Steak

Marinade
2 T. olive oil
2 T. lime juice
2 T. chili powder
2 t. cumin
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. salt
1 lb flank steak (would work with a skirt steak or flat iron steak too)

Mix up all the ingredients and place in a zipper bag with the steak.  Leave on the counter to marinate while you get the salad going.

Chipotle Corn and Red Potato Salad
1 lb. red potatoes, diced in 1/2 inch cubes
2 ears corn
1 ripe avocado
4 medium radishes, sliced
2 scallions, sliced
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 T. lime juice
1 chipotle chile pepper in adobe sauce, minced-caution, these are spicy, so you could use less, or scrape out the seeds).
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste (about 1 t. each for me)
1/2 c. olive oil

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the potatoes and corn.  Pull corn out after 5 minutes.  Keep an eye on the potatoes, they will probably take less than 10 minutes since they are diced fairly small.  You want the potatoes to be cooked firm (not still raw in the middle, but close--otherwise they'll be mushy in the salad).  Drain, rinse with cold water, drain some more and put in the fridge in the bowl you plan to serve in.

2. Pre-heat the grill on high.

3. Chop/cut up the avocado, radishes, scallions, cilantro and pepper while the grill heats up.

4. Spray the corn with a bit of non-stick spray and place on the grill.  Rotate it often so that you get nice brown spots all around.  Bring the corn back in and let it cool a bit.  As soon as its cool enough (or use a paper towel to hold the end) cut the kernels off the cobs.

5. Mix up the dressing with the chile peppers, lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper.  Slowly whisk in the oil so that it emulsifies.

6. Add all the ingredients to the bowl with the potatoes and pour the dressing over and carefully mix with a rubber spatula.  Refrigerate while you cook the steak.

7. On the still high-heat grill, place the marinated steak.  For medium, it will be about 4 minutes per side (that is the brilliance of the flank steak...its thin, so it cooks quickly).  Set the timer!

8. Remove the steak from the grill and cover with foil for about 15 minutes to let the meat relax and the juices redistribute.

9. Serve it up with fresh tortillas if you want.  Yeah, this is a keeper.  Serves 4 easily. 

This would also make great left overs as a salad--some greens on the bottom of the plate, a few spoon fulls of the potato salad mix and steak on the top.  Maybe fancy up some ranch dressing with more cilantro, lime and chile-or some cotija cheese.  Dang, making me hungry all over again.