Turkey Laab

Laab is a delicious, very spicy Northeastern Thai meat salad. It's usually made with ground pork, chicken or beef. (We don't really eat turkey in Thailand.) The dish is extremely easy to prepare. You basically just mix cooked meat with fish sauce, lime juice, dry red pepper and minced shallot together. One thing that can make this salad different from any other Thai salad is ground roasted rice. It added unique crunch and aroma to the dish. Laab is usually served with a few fresh vegetables - lettuce, cabbage, or string beans.



Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon uncooked rice - preferably the kind that you use to make sticky rice


• 1/2 pound ground turkey (or other meat)


• 1 tablespoon cooking oil


• 4 shallots - chopped


• 1/4 cup shredded carrots (optional - we don't add carrots to laab in Thailand - I just happened to have them and thought that I should use them.)


• A few sprigs of mint - picked


• Juice from 1-2 limes, to taste


• About 2 teaspoon of fish sauce


• 1 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Roast the rice with a non-stick pan on a stove top until slightly brown. Let cool and grind with coffee grinder.


2. Cook the turkey in heated oil on a medium high heat stove top. Stir occasionally until the meat is completely cooked.


3. Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl. Add more lime juice, fish sauce and/or red pepper flakes to taste.


4. Serve immediately with warm rice and your choice of fresh leaves.