Lau ga la e is loved for a broth sweet with chicken and the sharp green scent of la e that belongs to nothing else. The hard part is the heat, since a hard boil turns the chicken mealy and clouds the broth.
The chicken is not marinated with ordinary seasonings but with a hand pounded la e salt made from 50g of the leaves, green bird's eye chili and coarse salt, so the meat is fragrant from the inside out.
This batch weighs about 8.8kg, at roughly 82 calories per 100g.
Method
Rub the 2.5kg chicken with salt inside and out, rinse several times, drain, then chop into bite sized pieces.
Pick over the la e, discarding tough stems and bruised leaves, wash in lightly salted water, rinse again and drain.
Rinse the 500g pickled bamboo shoots with salt and split into long bite sized pieces.
Trim the stems of the 500g oyster mushrooms and 500g king oyster mushrooms, rinse, soak in lightly salted water for 5 minutes, rinse again, and tear into strips.
Strip the tough outer layers from the lemongrass, slice the white parts, and cut the stalks into 3cm lengths. Peel 20g shallot and 20g garlic and blitz them with the sliced lemongrass.
Make the la e salt for the chicken: pound 50g la e, 2 green bird's eye chilies, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1/2 tablespoon coarse salt together.
Put the chicken in a large bowl, mix it with the la e salt along with 1 tablespoon seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon MSG and 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and marinate for 15 minutes.
Boil the bamboo shoots for 5 minutes, drain and rinse.
Set a pan with 2 tablespoons cooking oil, fry 1 tablespoon of the garlic, shallot and lemongrass mixture until fragrant, add the bamboo shoots over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon cooking oil, and stir fry for 3 minutes.
Set a pot with 3 tablespoons cooking oil, fry the blitzed shallot, garlic and lemongrass with the bruised lemongrass stalks, then add the chicken and stir for 5 minutes to seal it.
Pour in 4 liters of water and drop in 1 onion. Once it boils, lower the heat, skim the foam, and cook for 30 minutes.
Add the fried bamboo shoots and 300g chicken blood curd, raise to medium heat, season with 1 tablespoon coarse salt, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon seasoning powder and 3 tablespoons fish sauce, and cook until it boils again.
Make the dipping salt: pound a handful of la e, 3 green bird's eye chilies, 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 2 tablespoons coarse chili salt.
Transfer the broth to the hot pot, keep it at a bare simmer, add a few green bird's eye chilies, cook the mushrooms through, then add the la e and serve with fresh rice vermicelli.
Tips
Dip the la e for only 2 to 3 minutes and eat it straight away, as a long soak costs its character.
For a deeper broth, use pork bone stock or coconut water in place of the plain water.
Give the preserved bamboo shoots a boil of their own before they go into the pot, as adding them straight in leaves a sour undertone.
Skim continuously for the first 30 minutes and the broth will stay clear.
Pound the la e salt in a mortar rather than a blender, as the leaves release their oils and smell far better.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.