Minced chicken and prawn laap with herbs, roasted rice and baby gem (published in The Daily Mail)

This recipe, taken from my book, Cook Thai, photography by Tom Regester & published by Kyle Books. It was also recently featured in the Daily Mail: Click here to read article written by Jessica Green

Laap is a spicy minced meat salad with fresh herbs and usually a hefty amount of chillies. It originates

from Lao and is most commonly eaten in the Isan region of Thailand, which is heavily populated by

those of Laos ethnicity. After trying a few recipes in this book you’ll probably notice how adaptable

the Thais are with the food that they create. The backbone of their food stems from a range of

cultures which they have then made their own in an incredible way. This simple and unique salad

demonstrates this perfectly.

Serves 2 / GF

100g, minced chicken, kidneys, liver & hearts too (make sure to mince all meat together)

100g, prawns, shells & heads removed, de-veined and minced with a cleaver

3 tablespoons, vegetable oil

6 garlic cloves, peeled

4 red birds eye chilli, stems removed (use 2 if you don’t like things too spicy)

20g, ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon coriander root, washed and chopped (this can be brought attached to the leaves in

most good Asian supermarkets, however if you can’t find just leave out)

½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

10g, coriander leaves, picked and washed

10g, mint leaves, picked and torn in half

8 Thai shallots, peeled and sliced (banana shallots work well too)

10g, Thai basil, picked

10, pak chi farang, also known as Thai flat leaf coriander (optional)

1 tablespoon whole roasted long red chillies, toasted in a dry pan for a few minutes until crispy and

charred.

1 tablespoon thick tamarind water

2 tablespoons, fish sauce

1 teaspoon palm sugar

1 head, baby gem lettuce, core removed and leaves washed and dried

2 apple aubergines, chopped into 6 (these are optional if you cannot get hold of them)

Firstly, using a pestle and mortar (or food processor) pound together the birds eye chilli, garlic and

ginger to make a paste, a little coarse sea salt can be added to the mortar to act as an abrasive and

help combine the ingredients.

Next heat a large wok to a high heat with the vegetable oil inside. Then add the ginger, garlic and

chilli paste and move constantly until golden brown. To this add the minced chicken, chicken offal

and prawns and continue to fry out until the prawns and the chicken are cooked and hot

throughout, this should take around 6-8 minutes. Next add the caster sugar and cook for a further

minute until the mixture darkens and caramelises. Then add the coriander, mint, basil, Thai shallots,

pak chi farang, apple aubergines, roasted long red chillies, fish sauce and squeeze one lime into it

then toss together, then serve immediately. The salad should be salty, sour and hot.

In the meantime, pre-heat an oven to 180 degrees. Place the jasmine rice on a baking tray and roast

for 35-40 minutes until the rice is golden brown throughout the whole grain. Once toasted, allow to

cool and the spice grind to a fine powder or use a pestle and mortar, be sure to make it as fine as

possible or it will not be pleasant to eat, the idea for the rice is that it adds texture to an otherwise

soft dish.

Serve the laap on plates with fresh and crispy baby gem at the side and top the salad with roasted rice for some texture and lime cheeks for a fresh, sour punch. The dish is delicious on its own, or served with some sticky glutinous rice.