(Pssst: You can find a printable version of the this recipe just above the recipe title.)
My basil plants are still going strong, but cold nights lurk just around the corner. I’ve been trying to find ways to use fists full of the leaves before I pull the plants to make pesto.
This easy chicken salad is one new way. It’s especially good with anise-scented Thai basil, but it tastes delicious with many tender herbs, including mint, cilantro, dill, and Mediterranean basil.
Last week, a few fat garlic cloves inspired me to thinly slice and fry them into golden chips. I find it meditative to stand over the skillet and watch the ivory slivers bubble away. When they’ve finally given away all their juice, the sugars start to caramelize, taking the garlic from a flaxen color to rich golden to browned within about 1 minute.
I love watching for that moment, when the garlic is evenly golden but not yet dark and the smell is rich and warm. As when you make caramel, you need to watch carefully so you don’t take it too far. The sugars in the garlic can go from sweet and toasty-tasting to acrid and bitter.
The trick is to pull the garlic before it’s perfectly cooked because it will continue to darken and crisp.
If this doesn’t sound like your idea of a good time, you can also fry garlic in the microwave. YUP, that’s right. THE MICROWAVE! It’s so easy but be forewarned that your microwave will smell for a few days like delicious fried garlic.
When you fry garlic (or other plants in the allium family, like onions and shallots), you also end up with a flavorful oil. You can always save the oil to use separately, but in this recipe, I add both.
Because the fried garlic and basil leaves have so much flavor, I dress the chicken with nothing more than lime zest and juice, salt, and pepper.
The flavors remind me of those from southern Vietnam, which I visited a decade ago during my honeymoon. In the Mekong Delta, we’d often get small bowls of salt and pepper, so you could add lime juice and use the simple, punchy sauce for dipping your grilled seafood.
Here, instead of making a dipping sauce, I toss together the chicken, herbs, lime juice, and seasoning. I like serving the chicken in large, crisp lettuce leaves so you can eat it with your hands. If you prefer, you can arrange it on a bed of lettuce as you would a salad.
With skyrocketing food prices, store-bought rotisserie chickens have been looking even more appealing lately, because they’re often less expensive than raw chicken. If you prefer to cook your own chicken, I also offer a method for simply roasted chicken breasts, if you prefer.
Pulled Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Herbs and Fried Garlic
Serves 4
Time: 25 minutes
By Kristin Donnelly from missiondinner.substack.com
4 fat garlic cloves
1 head of crisp lettuce, such as romaine, iceberg, or Bibb lettuce
2 limes
1 bunch mint, cilantro, or Thai basil (or 1 cup herb leaves from the garden)
One two-pound rotisserie chicken or 3 1/2 to 4 cups pulled cooked chicken meat (see below)
¼ cup neutral-flavored oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Prep the ingredients
If your garlic cloves are not already peeled, gently smash them with the flat side of a large knife to loosen the skins and peel the garlic. Thinly slice the garlic into rounds.
Pull apart the lettuce leaves, leaving them whole, then wash well and dry. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter.
Cut one of the limes into wedges and arrange them on the platter. Reserve the other lime.
Pick your herb leaves until you have about 1 loosely packed cup.
Pull the chicken off the bones and tear it into large bite-sized shreds. Transfer to a large bowl.
Fry the garlic on the stovetop or in the microwave
On the stovetop:
Have a small bowl near the stove.
In a medium skillet, heat the ¼ cup oil over medium heat for about 10 seconds, then add the sliced garlic. Spread the slices into a single layer and cook. When it starts to sizzle, after about 1 minute, reduce the heat to medium low and stir the garlic constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until the garlic turns evenly golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the garlic to cook until slightly darker golden, 30 seconds longer, then immediately pour the garlic with the oil into the small bowl.
Stir in a couple of pinches of salt.
Or in the microwave:
In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the sliced garlic and oil and stir to make sure the garlic is fully coated in oil.
Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Continue cooking the garlic on HIGH for 30 seconds at a time. As soon as you see a tiny bit of color on the garlic slices, cook the garlic in 10 second-bursts. When it’s evenly golden, carefully remove from the microwave and let cool to warm.
Stir in a couple of pinches of salt.
Assemble the chicken salad for the lettuce wraps
Finely grate the zest of the remaining lime over the chicken in the bowl. Halve the lime, then squeeze the juice over the chicken.
Stir in the garlic with the oil and several grinds of pepper. Taste your chicken and season with more salt, if desired.
Add most of the herb leaves to the chicken and toss.
Transfer the chicken to the platter and garnish with the remaining herb leaves.
Serve the platter family style, allowing people to build their own lettuce wraps, using the chicken as a filling. Squeeze lime juice over each wrap. Alternatively, allow everyone to build a salad with the lettuce leaves as a bed.
The short version
Fry the thinly sliced garlic cloves until golden.
In a bowl, toss together the cooked pulled chicken, zest and juice of 1 lime, garlic and garlic oil, and herb leaves. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve the chicken salad with lettuce leaves and lime wedges.
Cooking your own chicken
This is my favorite method for cooking chicken breasts when I want pulled meat to use in salads.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Rub boneless, skinless chicken breasts (10 to 12 ounces each) lightly with oil. Sprinkle all over with salt. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the largest chicken breast reads 162°F, 30 to 35 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before pulling apart into shreds.
Fun for kids
Pick the herb leaves.
Pull apart the lettuce.
Pull apart the chicken.
Stir together the chicken salad.
Swaps
Instead of frying garlic, you can fry thinly sliced shallots.
Or skip frying all together and replace the garlic with sliced scallions.
Or skip the alliums (garlic/onion family vegetables) all together.
Instead of limes, use lemons or dress the salad with 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar.
Instead of lettuce, use green cabbage leaves.
Instead of cilantro, mint, or Thai basil, use other basil, dill, or parsley. It will change the flavor but it will still be good.
Bulk it out
You can add diced cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, slice chiles, and/or sliced radishes to the chicken salad.
You can serve the lettuce wraps with cooked rice or rice noodles. If you decide to toss the chicken salad with the rice or noodles, you’ll want to taste and season with more salt, pepper, and lime juice.