Ping Gai Chicken - Laotian "Grilled Chicken Chicken"

Like I said in the intro, I’ve never been a huge fan of quinoa, or tabbouleh, but for some reason absolutely love this green quinoa tabbouleh. Maybe it’s the size of the grain, which is actually a seed, or the less wheaty flavor, but for me this vibrant, bracing salad is significantly better with quinoa instead of the traditional bulgur wheat.

Whether you do this with quinoa or bulgur, I recommend keeping the salad relatively simple, and then using it as a base for other composed salads. Of course, you can mix in diced tomato, cucumber, and chopped green onions the same time you add your herbs, but then you’re sort of stuck with that exact salad.

I prefer to make this as shown, and then add my garnishes when I serve it. That way I can have it as described above one day, and then the next day, enjoy a completely different salad, with new accessories like diced grilled chicken, zucchini, and feta, just to give you an idea off the top my head.

Regardless of how you jazz this up, we’re heading straight into the middle of grilling season, and for me, this is one of the all-time great cold side dishes, since it pairs so perfectly with all those highly-seasoned, smoky meats. So, for those reasons and more, I really do hope you give this green quinoa tabbouleh a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:

2 large bunches curly parsley

1 large bunch mint

1 bunch tarragon

6 cups of boiling water

2 cups rinsed white quinoa

salt as needed to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

cayenne taste

2 or 3 garlic cloves

2 or 3 whole lemons, plus more to taste

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed