laab nuea

No one ever said salads had to be boring. Here's a ground beef salad from Thailand that's sure to enliven any dinner.

Makes 4 servings

1 lb Ground beef
1/4 Cup Lime juice
2 Tbs Fish sauce
1/2 tsp Galangal powder (kha pon)
- or -
1/2 Tbs Fresh grated ginger
6 Shallots, thinly sliced
2 Tbs Green onions, chopped
2 Tbs Cilantro leaves, chopped
2 Tbs Ground roasted rice*
1 tsp Thai red chili pepper, ground (prik khee no pon)
- or -
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
15 Mint leaves

Blend the lime juice, fish sauce, galangal powder and shallots together with the ground beef. In a hot skillet or wok, brown the meat mixture until cooked through.

Remove from heat; add the chopped green onion, cilantro leaves and ground roasted rice to the meat mixture. Mix thoroughly until well combined.

Divide the meat mixutre into serving portions. Spoon the ground pepper on the side of the plate if desired; garnish the plates with the mint leaves.

Optional: Accompany the salad with a selection of raw vegetables, such as long beans, green beans, sliced cabbage, sliced carrots, chopped iceberg lettuce, chopped bok choy/napa cabbage, basil leaves, or spinach.

*Prepare the ground rice by frying the measure of short- or medium-grain rice in a hot skillet and roasting until they are a golden brown. Add 1 Tbs of water to the pan at occasional intervals but do not over-steam.

Grind the browned rice in a mortar with pestle or in a food processer.