*Welcome to Cooking Without Recipes , in which we teach you how to make a dish we love, but don’t worry too much about the nitty-gritty details of the recipe, so you can create your own spin. *

I'm a fan of anything you can stick in a leaf of lettuce and call dinner . I should mention right now: This is definitely not an authentic Laotian or Thai larb, which is one of the world's great foods. It is, however, exactly what I want to make on a weeknight: easy, refreshing, and bursting with flavor. Served with steamed rice, quick-pickled onions, and a tangle of herbs, humble ground chicken becomes a dinner I crave often. Start here, and you'll be eating in half an hour.

First, thinly slice half a red onion and place in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of rice vinegar . Let it hang out in the fridge until you're ready to eat. Meanwhile, steam some white rice .

Next, the chicken. Heat a slick of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add a pound of ground chicken , two minced garlic cloves , three thinly sliced scallions (whites and greens), and a couple of sliced chiles . I like to use fiery Thai birds eye chiles, but jalapeño, serrano, or Fresno would also work. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook until chicken is cooked through and browned. Stir in two tablespoons of soy sauce , a teaspoon of fish sauce , a small spoonful of sambal oelek or other hot sauce (like sriracha), and a tablespoon of brown sugar , cooking until the liquid is almost completely reduced.

Serve the larb with rice, Bibb or butter lettuce leaves , lime wedges , quick-pickled onions, more sambal oelek, and torn herbs like cilantro, basil, and mint.

Here's what the critics are saying:

"It's almost embarrassing how much I make this larb now." —Alex Beggs , senior web editor

"It is exactly what I want to cook on a weeknight: tastes complex, but easy to execute." —Carey Polis , editor, bonappetit.com

Told you so.