Laab-u Apetīti
Happy Monday readers, you get a double dose today.
Inspired by my friend, Veronika's, laab (or larb, lob, lop...) over the weekend, I decided to try my hand using this recipe from the NYT's Julia Moskin.
The result was as delicious as it was easy, though I made a few tweaks due to a combination of laziness and lack of ingredients.
Thai Laab Gai
Ingredients
2 tbsp roasted rice powder*
16 oz coarsely ground chicken**
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
4 tsp fish sauce
5 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 small red onion, quartered and sliced thinly
2 tbsp chopped cilantro***
2 tbsp chopped scallions****
10 whole mint leaves, more for serving
Romaine lettuce leaves, for serving
cucumber spears, for serving
2 cups jasmine rice
1 small jalepeño, sliced*****
*My local grocery doesn't carry this (to my knowledge) and I didn't feel like making this, despite the apparent ease, so I toasted 1/4 cup of a mix of chia seeds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes in the nonstick skillet I later used for the turkey. I then crushed them in a small bowl using the back of a spoon. The toasted rice powder imparts a nutty flavor, so the mix of nuts and seeds fit the bill nicely.
**I subbed ground turkey. You could use any minced, ground, or chopped protein that you'd like.
***I subbed 1 tsp of dried, ground coriander and added it to the chili powder because there was no fresh cilantro available
****I didn't bother
*****Anytime my grocery store has them (it's rare) I use as many as possible
Method
Once the cooking begins in earnest, this recipe moves pretty quickly, so I prepped all of my ingredients beforehand. First clean and slice cucumber, lettuce and mint. Set aside to dry. Pre-mix both the lime juice and fish sauce and the coriander and hot chili powder in two small bowls and then set them aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix onion, jalepeño, and seed/nut mixture.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat. When very hot, drop in 2 tbsp of water and add your protein. Stir constantly to break up into very small pieces. Cook until just through and then add to the bowl with the onions and jalepeños. Add both the wet and dry seasonings, and then mix thoroughly. Serve with prepped garnishes and enjoy. Labu apetīti (that's Latvian for bon appetit)!
Inspired by my friend, Veronika's, laab (or larb, lob, lop...) over the weekend, I decided to try my hand using this recipe from the NYT's Julia Moskin.
The result was as delicious as it was easy, though I made a few tweaks due to a combination of laziness and lack of ingredients.
Thai Laab Gai
Ingredients
2 tbsp roasted rice powder*
16 oz coarsely ground chicken**
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
4 tsp fish sauce
5 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 small red onion, quartered and sliced thinly
2 tbsp chopped cilantro***
2 tbsp chopped scallions****
10 whole mint leaves, more for serving
Romaine lettuce leaves, for serving
cucumber spears, for serving
2 cups jasmine rice
1 small jalepeño, sliced*****
*My local grocery doesn't carry this (to my knowledge) and I didn't feel like making this, despite the apparent ease, so I toasted 1/4 cup of a mix of chia seeds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes in the nonstick skillet I later used for the turkey. I then crushed them in a small bowl using the back of a spoon. The toasted rice powder imparts a nutty flavor, so the mix of nuts and seeds fit the bill nicely.
**I subbed ground turkey. You could use any minced, ground, or chopped protein that you'd like.
***I subbed 1 tsp of dried, ground coriander and added it to the chili powder because there was no fresh cilantro available
****I didn't bother
*****Anytime my grocery store has them (it's rare) I use as many as possible
Method
Once the cooking begins in earnest, this recipe moves pretty quickly, so I prepped all of my ingredients beforehand. First clean and slice cucumber, lettuce and mint. Set aside to dry. Pre-mix both the lime juice and fish sauce and the coriander and hot chili powder in two small bowls and then set them aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix onion, jalepeño, and seed/nut mixture.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat. When very hot, drop in 2 tbsp of water and add your protein. Stir constantly to break up into very small pieces. Cook until just through and then add to the bowl with the onions and jalepeños. Add both the wet and dry seasonings, and then mix thoroughly. Serve with prepped garnishes and enjoy. Labu apetīti (that's Latvian for bon appetit)!
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