Edit: Please see my refined recipe and narrative below.
Who likes Thai food?
There isn't a forum here that this seemed to fit. Mod's are welcome to move it if there is one I missed.
This is Thai adjacent. Not perfectly traditional.
Larb Gai is lettuce wraps. Laab Gai can have lettuce on the side that can be used as wraps or eaten as a finger food along with the meat mixture and other toppings.
4-servings but you may need a bit more sauce for topping the 3rd or 4th. This is a great sauce in general, doubling it, you may find other uses, like a dumpling dipper, etc. I’m usually only serving two and will have to make a bit more sauce for the leftovers. Picture shows one serving.
Described below is what you see in the picture and the recipe I'm currently working on and tweaking.
Pans-10” non-stick skillet and whatever you use to make rice.
Make a batch of rice (usually 1 cup rice to 2 cups water or thereabouts) (whatever rice you like, but I would not use brown or wild for this). Keep at room temp while making the rest of this meal.
Make toasted rice topper:
In the skillet, dry, ¼ cup uncooked rice, med-high. Roast the rice, stirring and shaking here and there until the rice is toasted brown, being careful not to burn. I start lowering the temp as it gets brown similar to how I do with a roux.
Let the toasted rice cool (you’ll be prepping for a while anyway) and put in a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle of you are a glutton for punishment) and grind to not quite a true powder. This is going to add an interesting crunch, but you don’t want dust or too coarse.
Sauce: Use sauce for cooking liquid and for topping. Makes about ½ cup or so. Double this to be sure of enough for 4 servings drizzled.
Juice of 2 limes
2 tsp brown sugar or other sweetener to taste
1 tbl low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbl Thai mushroom soy sauce (this stuff is fantastic)
2 tbls rice vinegar
2 tbls Fish sauce
2 tsp Chili/garlic sauce (This is good stuff)
2-tsp Sriracha
1-tsp finely grated ginger
*Whisk it all. Bumping in the microwave to warm so the sugar dissolves, helps. I add the sugar to the lemon juice and do this (30 seconds in an old 800watt microwave), then add all the other ingredients, some of which are from the fridge which cools it back down. Or make the sauce first or ahead of time and it will cool to room temp by the time you need it.
Meat mixture:
1 lb of ground meat (chicken, turkey or pork. Chicken is traditional but I like pork better)
Peanut oil as needed for cooking
Lots of minced fresh ginger (you almost can’t overdo it)
lots of garlic, minced
handful chopped onions
Green onion tops or chives, chopped (optional)
Chopped hot peppers (one large jalapeno or other similar amount of pepper of choice)(the ones we get are usually mild, thus the red pepper flakes, if your peppers are hot, skip the flakes)
handful chopped mushrooms (optional)
½ cup + or -cooked rice (optional for a keto-ish version)
Cilantro, plucked from the stems (optional for those that don’t like it, basil, Thai basil and mint are options). I use a lot.
Coarse black pepper
Red pepper flakes (optional for those who cant handle the heat, the sauce has a little heat already)
In the 10” non-stick skillet, sauté the onion and pepper in peanut oil until somewhat softened, (add the fresh mushrooms about half way through if using) toss in the garlic and remove from heat, stirring, about 30 seconds. Remove from skillet.
Brown the meat, eventually breaking it down to a fairly fine texture after draining if using pork. If using chicken or turkey you will need some oil. Peanut oil is what I use for “Asian”. If using pork you will need to drain the fat. Do this before the meat is fully browned/cooked.
Add the meat back to the pan if having drained over a colander and chop it up well quickly (I love this tool), add the ginger, black and red pepper (eyeball it, I use probably 2 tsp black and 1 tsp red…by eye). Cook for a few minutes to finish the meat and release the flavors of the ginger and peppers.
Add the onion, pepper, garlic mixture (and green onion tops or chives if using) and break up about a half cup of rice over the skillet and mix well with the meat mixture.
Add a good amount of sauce, but remember to reserve some for topping. Taste and adjust. About ¾ of the base sauce recipe should be about right but add less at first and taste and adjust for those who are salt adverse.
Cook until the sauce is cooked off/absorbed. Turn off heat and leave pan on the warm eye or keep "just warm". You want this to be “Goldilocks warm” for serving.
While cooking the above, begin your mis en place of the toppings.
Toppings, etc.: (use your head as to how much based on how many servings you are serving)
Large lettuce leaves if using as wraps. Any size for eating with fingers or fork/knife
Cooked rice. Sticky rice is traditional, I think. Not what I used here but you cant see it anyway!
Cucumber, peeled and seeded. I cut even an English cucumber in half and scoop the seeds out, then cut slivered half-moons.
Thinly sliced then rough chopped sweet onion, or
Green onions, white parts bias cut (optional)
Jalapeno peppers, halved, seeded and slivered
Chopped tomatoes (good, but not traditional). Drain or blot the chopped tomatoes if they are juicy.
Shredded carrot. A mostly decorative topping.
Fresh mint, cilantro, or basil
Ground toasted rice
In the picture was my fantasy of serving as big lettuce wraps…epic fail! But, eating with a fork and tearing some lettuce away to influence the ingredients on to the fork and eating the lettuce with fingers and fork was still tasty. In hindsight, a spoon larger than a teaspoon would have been handy.
To make functional lettuce wraps you need far less filling than I did here, per wrap.
But this plating went as thus:
2 large leaf lettuce leave down on the plates.
Top with about a palmful of rice (room temp)
Meat mixture (warm)
Cucumber
Onion
Jalapeno slivers
Tomatoes
Drizzle some sauce (maybe 2 tsp or so per attempted large wrap). (Yes it will leak out some)
Carrot
Cilantro
Toasted rice
You can plate all of this as you wish but I don’t care for it as a sort of “tossed salad”. The meat should remain the star of the show. It was in these “wraps” even though you can barely see it in the picture.
You can web search Laab Gai and see a wide array of how people plate this. Some are confusing Larb and Laab Gai but the main difference is whether its an actual lettuce wrap, everything else is roughly the same. Some vegetables vary in some recipes.
Let me know of any typos or “stupids” I should correct!
Who likes Thai food?
There isn't a forum here that this seemed to fit. Mod's are welcome to move it if there is one I missed.
This is Thai adjacent. Not perfectly traditional.
Larb Gai is lettuce wraps. Laab Gai can have lettuce on the side that can be used as wraps or eaten as a finger food along with the meat mixture and other toppings.
4-servings but you may need a bit more sauce for topping the 3rd or 4th. This is a great sauce in general, doubling it, you may find other uses, like a dumpling dipper, etc. I’m usually only serving two and will have to make a bit more sauce for the leftovers. Picture shows one serving.
Described below is what you see in the picture and the recipe I'm currently working on and tweaking.
Pans-10” non-stick skillet and whatever you use to make rice.
Make a batch of rice (usually 1 cup rice to 2 cups water or thereabouts) (whatever rice you like, but I would not use brown or wild for this). Keep at room temp while making the rest of this meal.
Make toasted rice topper:
In the skillet, dry, ¼ cup uncooked rice, med-high. Roast the rice, stirring and shaking here and there until the rice is toasted brown, being careful not to burn. I start lowering the temp as it gets brown similar to how I do with a roux.
Let the toasted rice cool (you’ll be prepping for a while anyway) and put in a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle of you are a glutton for punishment) and grind to not quite a true powder. This is going to add an interesting crunch, but you don’t want dust or too coarse.
Sauce: Use sauce for cooking liquid and for topping. Makes about ½ cup or so. Double this to be sure of enough for 4 servings drizzled.
Juice of 2 limes
2 tsp brown sugar or other sweetener to taste
1 tbl low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbl Thai mushroom soy sauce (this stuff is fantastic)
2 tbls rice vinegar
2 tbls Fish sauce
2 tsp Chili/garlic sauce (This is good stuff)
2-tsp Sriracha
1-tsp finely grated ginger
*Whisk it all. Bumping in the microwave to warm so the sugar dissolves, helps. I add the sugar to the lemon juice and do this (30 seconds in an old 800watt microwave), then add all the other ingredients, some of which are from the fridge which cools it back down. Or make the sauce first or ahead of time and it will cool to room temp by the time you need it.
Meat mixture:
1 lb of ground meat (chicken, turkey or pork. Chicken is traditional but I like pork better)
Peanut oil as needed for cooking
Lots of minced fresh ginger (you almost can’t overdo it)
lots of garlic, minced
handful chopped onions
Green onion tops or chives, chopped (optional)
Chopped hot peppers (one large jalapeno or other similar amount of pepper of choice)(the ones we get are usually mild, thus the red pepper flakes, if your peppers are hot, skip the flakes)
handful chopped mushrooms (optional)
½ cup + or -cooked rice (optional for a keto-ish version)
Cilantro, plucked from the stems (optional for those that don’t like it, basil, Thai basil and mint are options). I use a lot.
Coarse black pepper
Red pepper flakes (optional for those who cant handle the heat, the sauce has a little heat already)
In the 10” non-stick skillet, sauté the onion and pepper in peanut oil until somewhat softened, (add the fresh mushrooms about half way through if using) toss in the garlic and remove from heat, stirring, about 30 seconds. Remove from skillet.
Brown the meat, eventually breaking it down to a fairly fine texture after draining if using pork. If using chicken or turkey you will need some oil. Peanut oil is what I use for “Asian”. If using pork you will need to drain the fat. Do this before the meat is fully browned/cooked.
Add the meat back to the pan if having drained over a colander and chop it up well quickly (I love this tool), add the ginger, black and red pepper (eyeball it, I use probably 2 tsp black and 1 tsp red…by eye). Cook for a few minutes to finish the meat and release the flavors of the ginger and peppers.
Add the onion, pepper, garlic mixture (and green onion tops or chives if using) and break up about a half cup of rice over the skillet and mix well with the meat mixture.
Add a good amount of sauce, but remember to reserve some for topping. Taste and adjust. About ¾ of the base sauce recipe should be about right but add less at first and taste and adjust for those who are salt adverse.
Cook until the sauce is cooked off/absorbed. Turn off heat and leave pan on the warm eye or keep "just warm". You want this to be “Goldilocks warm” for serving.
While cooking the above, begin your mis en place of the toppings.
Toppings, etc.: (use your head as to how much based on how many servings you are serving)
Large lettuce leaves if using as wraps. Any size for eating with fingers or fork/knife
Cooked rice. Sticky rice is traditional, I think. Not what I used here but you cant see it anyway!
Cucumber, peeled and seeded. I cut even an English cucumber in half and scoop the seeds out, then cut slivered half-moons.
Thinly sliced then rough chopped sweet onion, or
Green onions, white parts bias cut (optional)
Jalapeno peppers, halved, seeded and slivered
Chopped tomatoes (good, but not traditional). Drain or blot the chopped tomatoes if they are juicy.
Shredded carrot. A mostly decorative topping.
Fresh mint, cilantro, or basil
Ground toasted rice
In the picture was my fantasy of serving as big lettuce wraps…epic fail! But, eating with a fork and tearing some lettuce away to influence the ingredients on to the fork and eating the lettuce with fingers and fork was still tasty. In hindsight, a spoon larger than a teaspoon would have been handy.
To make functional lettuce wraps you need far less filling than I did here, per wrap.
But this plating went as thus:
2 large leaf lettuce leave down on the plates.
Top with about a palmful of rice (room temp)
Meat mixture (warm)
Cucumber
Onion
Jalapeno slivers
Tomatoes
Drizzle some sauce (maybe 2 tsp or so per attempted large wrap). (Yes it will leak out some)
Carrot
Cilantro
Toasted rice
You can plate all of this as you wish but I don’t care for it as a sort of “tossed salad”. The meat should remain the star of the show. It was in these “wraps” even though you can barely see it in the picture.
You can web search Laab Gai and see a wide array of how people plate this. Some are confusing Larb and Laab Gai but the main difference is whether its an actual lettuce wrap, everything else is roughly the same. Some vegetables vary in some recipes.
Let me know of any typos or “stupids” I should correct!
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