INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

(or other, see comments)  :          lime juice (see method) 2 tb fish
sauce 3 tb freshly  ground prik pon  :          (ground dried red
chilis) 2 ts prikthai (freshly ground  :          black pepper) 1/2 c
shallots,  :          very thinly sliced 1 tb lemon grass, bruised and
:          sliced paper thin 3    bai magrut (kaffir lime  :        
leaves), torn,  :          or 1 ts lime zest 1 tb khao koor  :        
chopped spring onions,  :          coriander/cilantro  :        
leaves as garnish  :          a lettuce leaf for the  :        
serving plate, and a  :          selection of sliced  :        
vegetable crudites  :          to accompany.  Comments This dish is
similar to the common laab dishes, except that  the meat is not cooked
(or only very lightly cooked). It originated  in Laos (hence the
alternative name of laab lao), and is the common  form found in rural
parts of the Isan (North East Thailand). Today,  because of concerns of
the sanitary conditions in Thai  slaughterhouses, the official
government line is that the meat should  be cooked, and it certainly
doesn't make a great difference to the  flavour of the dish if it is
lightly cooked. It could also be made  with pork or chicken, and I have
succesfully made  it with [jumbo] shrimp, crayfish, crab and lobster.
khao koor is  roughly ground toasted rice: you can make it by toasting
a couple of  tablespoons of uncooked white long grain rice in a
skillet, then  grinding, or you could substitute toasted bread crumbs.
method  Place the ground meat in a mixing bowl, and thoroughly mix with
fresh  lime juice, and leave to marinade for an hour. Take the
marinaded  meat and knead it, much as you would if making pizza dough,
squeezing  thoroughly to drive out as much blood and other juice as
possible,  either in a muslin bag or a very fine seive such as a
chinois. Drain  thoroughly, and return to the mixing bowl, marinade
again in fresh  lime juice.  Repeat this process 3 or 4 times, then set
aside, covered in a cool  place to marinade a final time (it is not
kneaded after the final  marination - to underline the point it should
be kneaded and drained  3 or 4 times, then marinaded once more).  At
this stage you may, if you wish, stir fry the meat very briefly (it
should still be very rare).  Finally combine the meat with the other
ingredients: it should be hot  and spicy, but not inedibly so, so add
the chili powder in stages,  tasting as you go.  Allow to stand for an
hour before serving. To serve turn it onto a  lettuce leaf on a serving
platter.  This dish goes best with sticky rice, which can be used as an
eating  utensil: form a ball of rice and use it to pick up a little of
the  spiced meat. The rice and vegetable crudites will ameliorate the
heat. Note that in the Isan diners usually add additional prik pon  and
nam pla prik (chilis in fish sauce) or prik dong (pickled chilis)  to
make the dish even hotter! Walt MM  Colonel Ian F.
Khuntilanont-Philpott Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V3  #251  Date: Fri,
13 Sep 1996 18:08:44 -0400  From: Walt Gray <waltgray@mnsinc.com>

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 100
Calories From Fat: 72
Total Fat: 7.8g
Cholesterol: 28.4mg
Sodium: 26.1mg
Potassium: 98.7mg
Carbohydrates: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 6.7g