"I was working in the Laab late one night..."

Moi encore,

If you've been reading my contributions for any significant stretch of time, you'll know that I don't usually subscribe to the concept that "simplest is best". I like to complicate things and throw more stuff into a recipe than might make sense. But sometimes I come across a dish whose strength lies in its (relative) simplicity. One such case is a Loatian/Thai staple called "Laab" (or "Larb"). Laab is, essentially, a salad of ground pork or beef mixed with shallots, fish sauce, lime juice, herbs and a couple of other ingredients. I first tried it at Play where it was served on lettuce wraps, and I was hooked. It can be served hot or cold, raw or cooked (I recommend the latter) and presented pretty much any way you like. As I said: simple.

The flavour profile highlights a few of the cornerstones of Southeast Asian cooking, namely the uniquely funky saltiness of fish sauce, the tart sweetness of lime juice and the herbal notes of mint, cilantro and/or Thai basil. And that's just the basic model.

So, today I'll be walking you through the how-to on this delicious and easy bit of gastronomy!

Laab

Ingredients

- 1 lb. ground beef or pork
- 2 shallots, minced or thinly sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger or galangal, minced OR 1 tsp dried ginger or galangal
- 1 lime, cut in half
- 2 tbsp fish sauce + 1 tsp on the side
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
- 2-3 tbsp jasmine rice

Plus, choice of any or all of the following:

- 2 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp Thai basil, chopped
- 2 tbsp green onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup grated carrot
- 1/2 cup grated red cabbage

Putting things together

Directions

- Mix meat well with shallots, garlic, ginger, juice and zest of half a lime, 2 tbsp of fish sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and sriracha. Let stand in fridge for at least an hour to let flavours mix.
- Toast the rice in a frying pan for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Grind rice into a coarse powder in a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder. Set aside to cool.
- In a large frying pan, cook meat for 10 minutes until well cooked through. Set aside to cool for a little bit until it's warm, but not hot.
-  Stir in whatever herbs and veggies you like (I went with mint, cilantro and carrot the last time I made it), along with the remaining lime juice and fish sauce.
- Serve on lettuce wraps or in a bowl or whatever you like!

Getting closer to deliciousness

I love Laab so very much. It combines meaty richness with all the freshness of lime juice and herbs and veggies, with a little bit of an exotic crunch from the toasted rice. It's a fairly light meal, but still satisfying. I highly recommend you try your hand making it or at least finding a restaurant that serves it.




The finished product, except not the one I made, because I forgot to take a picture of it... oops...

A quick taste of Thai

Me again,

Alright, ever since the mid-90s or so, people have been going crazy for Thai food. That mix of sweet, spicy and salty is unique amonst all cuisines and I know VERY few people who aren't fans. What really does it for me are the curries. Red curry: fiery, zingy, delicious! Green curry: earthy, smoky, nearly painfully hot! Yellow curry: mild, tangy, with all that turmeric goodness! MANOUM c'est bon!

Well, back a couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to give it a try myself. Now, I used various store-bought curry pastes, but when I made my own, it was about 10 million times better. Now, while it isn't really that hard to make your own curry paste, it's quite hard to find all the ingredients for it! So, for simplicity's sake I'll assume you're buying the paste at a local supermarket.
This recipe is a very basic red curry dish that I got from a cheapie cookbook. I've adapted many different versions, but the one I'm giving you now is pretty easy. You will have to look in the Oriental section of the supermarket.
Fish sauce is used in Thai cooking the same way soya sauce is used in Chinese cooking. Be careful with it, it's REALLY salty, it stinks, and it's pretty gross tasting on its own. But most curries are bland without it, as I discovered whilst camping last summer.


Red Curry with Shrimp and Tomato (4 servings)

Ingredients

- 1 lb. shrimp
- 1 package grape or cherry tomatoes, rinsed and dried, sliced in half (try to keep juice)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 tbsps red curry paste
- 1 and a half cans coconut milk (same size as a small can of Campbell's soup, use the lower quality stuff, and NOT coconut cream or water)
- 1-2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp chopped lime leaf (if you can find it)
- chopped Thai basil, regular basil or cilantro for garnish)
Directions

1. In a medium pot on medium-high, heat 2 tbsp curry paste until it starts to get fragrant and loosen (maybe 2-3 minutes)

2. Add 1 can of coconut milk. Stir and get the coconut milk bubbling. Keep stirring and let it thicken from the heat

3. Add onions, shrimp and tomato. Continue to simmer on medium heat for about 15 mins.

4. Add half can of coconut milk (use remaining coconut milk in a smoothie or mix it with some chilled mango juice for a very tasty beverage), sugar, fish sauce and lime leaf.

5. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for another 15 minutes, letting sauce thicken.

6. Serve over cooked jasmine rice or rice noodles.

Variations: You can use any veggies you wish in this. I'm a big fan of bamboo shoots and zucchini.


If enough of you ask, I'll tell you how to make your own Red Curry paste.

Cheers!