August 23, 2004
Recipe: Laab Kai
Article Summary: Recipe: Laab Kai
A delicious low-fat hot and sour chicken salad from Thailand that bursts with strong flavours.Laab is a wonderful hot n' sour salad from Thailand. It's also very low in fat, but bursts with flavour. The primary flavours are hot (from the chilli), sour (from the lime juice) and salty (from the fish sauce) If you want a circus on your tongue, try Laab. It's also made very quickly - less than 10 minutes if you work fast.
I've modified this version to my liking (the lemon grass, for instance), so it may not match other recipes exactly.
Here's what it looks like:
and here's how to make a 2-portion serving...
WHAT YOU NEED
Chicken breast meat (boneless), ground (minced) very coarsely - 200 gm
(The coarse part is important. Finely minced meat will not pick up flavour and
will just float around. I usually use two cleavers and break down a chicken
breast. You can try cutting the chicken breast very fine. Freezing it for about
30 minutes before chopping makes it easier.)
Chicken stock - 90 ml (6 tablespoons)
Peanut oil - 2 teaspoons
Galangal (finely chopped) - 2 teaspoons (substitute young ginger if you can't find this)
Lemon grass (finely chopped) - 1 tablespoon (Use only the tender heart and not the fibrous outer layer. Substitute 1 teaspoon lemon rind if you can't find this)
Fresh red chillies - from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons depending on your tolerance - very finely sliced (don't forget to wash your hands with soap immediately after touching them)
Shallots (sliced) - 4 (Substitute with quarter of a medium purple onion if you can't find this)
Fresh mint leaves (chopped) - 1/2 cup
Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves (chopped) - 1/2 cup
Spring onions (scallions for the Americans) - finely chopped - 2 tablespoons
4 tablespoons raw rice (we're gonna make toasted ground rice with this)
4 Lettuce leaves
Salad dressing ingredients
4 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
HOW TO MAKE IT
First, we're going to make our special ingredient - toasted ground rice. This gives the salad a nutty flavour.
Heat a skillet over low heat and when it's hot enough, add the raw rice grains. Keep the heat low and stir from time to time. Keep toasting till the grains turn golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
When it has cooled down, put it into a coffee grinder and grind till you have a coarse powder. You should not grind it till it's fine. It should still have some "bite".
Combine the salad dressing ingredients and set aside. Adjust to taste if something seems out of balance.
Heat a wok or large pan and when it's hot, add the peanut oil. Once the oil is hot, add the lemon grass, shallots, and galangal. Stir for 20 seconds, and add the stock. Turn the heat down to medium and add the minced chicken. Cook for another 3-4 minutes (about 30-60 seconds past the time that the chicken turns white completely and is no longer pink) Don't overcook the chicken or it will get tough. By the time you finish cooking, the stock would have evaporated.
There, the chicken is done. Turn off the heat. Add the salad dressing, the chillies, the toasted rice, spring onions, the mint and coriander leaves. Mix well.
Take a serving plate, arrange the lettuce leaves in the corners of the plate, and empty the chicken and its dressing on to the plate in between the leaves.
Ta da! Your salad is ready. Traditionally, it is served with plenty of veggies and herbs on the side. You can have the salad as an accompaniment to your main course, or wrap the chicken and some dressing in the lettuce leaves and enjoy it as a hot n' sour package. Be adventurous and use more chilli than you'd normally use. The flavour of the fresh herbs will prevent any serious damage to your taste buds.
This salad can be served at room temperature, but I like to serve it warm. If you allow it to cool, the chilli flavour recedes and the salty flavour becomes more assertive. Try making the salad with beef too.
PS: Chilli causes the release of endorphins in your body, which make you happy, so it's just as effective a "love food" as chocolate. And the medley of flavours in this salad gets people all excited too. (wink, wink)
(If you liked this article, please do visit Shiok, my restaurant in Bangalore or recommend it to a friend.)
16 comments
What if I do not have a coffee grinder?
Can you think of an alternative? Crushed peanuts?
How else can i get the rice ground up?
thanks,
davidu
Posted by David A. Ulevitch on August 24, 2004 12:53 AM http://david.ulevitch.com/
David, don't you have anything that can pulverize rice grains? A mortar and pestle? A heavy paperweight?
Take the rice grains, wrap them in some foil and give 'em a pounding with the paperweight. That ought to do most of the work. :)
Posted by Madhu (Ze Chef) on August 24, 2004 01:47 AM
Nice sounds simple... must check it out ! where is my chicken mushroom is lettuce cups.. please put that up..
Posted by Pallavi on August 24, 2004 06:53 PM http://jilmil.blogspot.com
I haven't come across the toasted ground rice before; I'll give this recipe a whirl this weekend. Thanks!
Posted by Miriam on August 24, 2004 08:51 PM http://www.dynagirl.com
Sounds damn neat...I've used lentils to give a coarse, crunchy taste, but rice..sounds new and exciting..will definetly try this weekend!!
Posted by Sonal on August 25, 2004 11:39 AM
sounds great.
Will give it a try.. thanks..
-p
Posted by Pramod on August 27, 2004 02:04 AM
I know what I'm cooking this weekend! Great stuff Madhu
Posted by Rash on September 17, 2004 05:22 PM http://hornswoggle.blogspot.com
DUDE that was AWESOME! Rowr! Another thing that the toasted rice does, is it soaks up any extra dressing that would otherwise lie watery and wan at the bottom and glues it to the other food. SO added to the regular line-up. Fast, too. Thanks!
PS
I used ground pork.
Posted by Miriam on October 29, 2004 07:05 AM http://www.dynagirl.com
Glad you like it, Miriam. ;)
(Did I mention it is low fat?)
Posted by Madhu (Ze Chef) on October 29, 2004 11:49 AM
Say, how could you make this as a vegetarian dish? Tofu?
Posted by Scott on January 11, 2005 10:48 PM
Scott,
Tofu will make a "vegetarian" version alright. I'm not so sure about the taste and texture though. Tofu just doesn't have the "bite" of minced meat. Try minced mushroom perhaps?
Posted by Madhu (Ze Chef) on January 12, 2005 01:03 AM http://shiokfood.com/notes
A suggestion, add the same amount of Thai basil as cilantro, just at the end of the sitr fry. Just got back from Thailand and found about 1/3 of the Laab I ordered, Chicken, Pork or Tofu, included it an it really rounded the flavors
Posted by Michael on January 17, 2005 11:58 AM
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Posted by wpqfk wqizkn on October 16, 2006 07:23 PM http://www.bfgprscxw.myqvulc.com
Thanks for the recipe, Madhu! I'm with Scott … I need a vegetarian version.
As I am actively looking for vegetarian dishes -- especially decent vegetarian ASIAN dishes -- I have a suggestion about the the tofu texture: Drain *firm* or extra firm tofu for 15-20 minutes, hand mash with a potato masher (or even with a fork if that's all you have), and stir-fry the crumbled mess in a medium hot (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being Very Hot, I heat the pan on 5 or 6) oiled (or PAM-med) frying pan for a few minutes. The texture is akin to cooked, crumbled hamburger. If you want a softer texture, just whisk the tofu around briefly. If you like a firmer texture, stir-fry for longer.
In the restaurants that have served me a tofu version, the chilli flavor is MUCH stronger than in the corresponding meat-based dish, even when I ask for "mild". As I haven't tried this recipe yet, I don't know how to moderate the spice to suit other palates.
While meat has its own flavor, tofu tends to be bland unless specially treated. For this dish you might wish to flavor the tofu with a vegetarian vegetable broth, try looking in the soup broth or the prepared sauces sections of your local Asian grocers. Here in California (USA) I have found two liquid vegetarian broth concentrates at my local Chinese supermarkets. Unfortunately, I can't give you the brand names, as they are not written in English! My husband and I identify them by the colors of the (plastic) bottle lids. The pink-lid one is mushroom-based; the orange-lid one is vegetable-based.
Thank you for posting recipes with such attention to the details!
Posted by Marty on April 20, 2007 12:37 AM
hmm, this is indeed yummy. I had it a few days back in Berco's in Delhi!! :) Would try it in your restaurant when am in Bangalore! :)
Posted by Amit on August 4, 2007 10:58 PM http://food.wanderer.in/
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Sounds great! I should try this out this weekend :)
Posted by Shanti on August 23, 2004 10:20 PM http://www.madhoo.com