Chicken Laab

I love how Southeast Asian recipes treat herbs like vegetables. This is my favorite way of using the bounty of cilantro, mint and lettuce that arrive in my garden all at once in May.

1 lb ground chicken breast (pulse cubes of chicken breast in the food processor)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup loosely packed mint, chopped
1 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped
2 stalks lemon grass–bottom three inches of stalk trimmed, sliced, and then minced in food processor
1 T brown sugar
2 T Thai fish sauce
3 scallions, finely sliced
1/2 T New Mexico chili powder (or cayenne, use less!). Omit if you are sensitive to nightshades.
1-2 tsp toasted rice powder (toast rice in a dry frying pan until golden then grind in a coffee grinder). Optional, but adds a nice nutty flavor.
Fresh spring lettuce

Instructions:

Boil the water and add ground chicken. Stir until cooked through. Remove from heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients except lettuce and stir to combine. Serve over a bed of lettuce.

Source: True Thai by Victor Sodsook with Theresa Volpe Laursen and Byron Laursen.