Thai food is a bit of an enigma. Throughout the 90's a lot of Asian cuisines became 'flavours of the month' for a while, but of all of them, only Thai has had the prevalence and staying power to still be so common in 2008. Maybe it's their blatant piracy of other cultures' food like the Malaysian Laksa, maybe it's the names of their dishes that must ALWAYS have three words, like a mini haiku. Or maybe it's the fact that it's actually really hard to recreate the flavours of Thai cooking at home - try making a Tom Yum Goon, Pad Se Ew, or Pad Thai at home. Without using one of those shitty MSG filled pre-made sauces it's fucking difficult.
The main reason is the undenyable RULE of Thai Cooking - It all tastes and smells like crap until it's finished. Think about the ingredients - Fish sauce (smells like vomit), Lime juice (sour on its own), Tamarind paste (weird tasting), Shrimp Paste (YUCK), Lemongrass and Kaffir Lime Leaves (Which are actually inedible!). SOMEHOW all these ingredients end up being tasty around 5 minutes before you serve. The theory is that some sort of Thai Cooking Pixie sneaks in and takes away all of the bad smells, leaving you only with the tastiness. Legend has it that these pixies have nest around Chiag Mai... if we could only get the funding to mount an expedition to capture a breeding pair, we'd be rich, RICH!
BREAKING NEWS: The Thai cooking pirates have struck again! Doing some research for this entry I discover that Laab is actually LAOTIAN. A pirates life yo ho indeed!
Anyway, this recipe is one that is actually pretty easy, it doesn't require any crazy ingredients and you don't have to pre-prepare any strange pastes by means of heathen moonlight rituals. Which is good.
INGREDIENTS
600g Minced Pr0k
1 Bunch Coriander (roughly chopped
1/4 Bunch Thai Basil (or normal basil will do for this dish)
2 Red Capsicums (diced)
3 Long Red Chilis (seeded I'd recommend, then chopped finely)
3 Bok Choi (just the leaves, roughly shredded)
4 Shallots (Cut finely, the white bits and the green bits separate)
Fish Sauce
5 Limes (juiced)
1 tablespoon Ginger (minced finely)
8 Kaffir Lime Leaves
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
Lemongrass (bruised and tied in a knot)
1 Tablespoon Tamarind Paste
Brown Sugar
OK the trick to this recipe is to make it super stinky and nasty a the start, then add all the other ingredients and get Thai Cooking Pixie to take away the bad smells. First up, cut up all the ingredients so everything is ready to throw in.
Heat your wok and brown the Prok. Ha that rhymes. Throw in the lemongrass, but don't cook it too fast, add the Kaffir lime leaves, and uh... add about 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and the juice of one lime. I can't think of anything to rhyme with leaves, so from here you need to reduce the fluid that comes out of the Pr0k, while letting it absorb the flavour of the Lime, Kaffir leaves, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, tamarind paste and fish sauce. You'll need to cook it for about 15 minutes on a low heat.
Once the Pr0k has reduced and is quite dry it's time to add the other ingredients. First up throw in the white parts of the shallots, and let them cook for a bit. Add another lime and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce at this point. After a minute or two, add the diced capsicum and chili, 3/4 of the coriander and the basil. The recipe is now safe to taste. If it's too salty, add some brown sugar until it's more palatable.
Cook for a further minute, the rest of the lime, more fish sauce, the bok choi and the green parts of the shallots. Once the Bok choi is wilted you're ready to serve! Garnish with the remaining coriander and serve over white rice. There shouldn't be too much fluid with this dish, but it will be very strongly flavoured, and if the Thai Cooking Pixies have done their work, super tasty :)
The main reason is the undenyable RULE of Thai Cooking - It all tastes and smells like crap until it's finished. Think about the ingredients - Fish sauce (smells like vomit), Lime juice (sour on its own), Tamarind paste (weird tasting), Shrimp Paste (YUCK), Lemongrass and Kaffir Lime Leaves (Which are actually inedible!). SOMEHOW all these ingredients end up being tasty around 5 minutes before you serve. The theory is that some sort of Thai Cooking Pixie sneaks in and takes away all of the bad smells, leaving you only with the tastiness. Legend has it that these pixies have nest around Chiag Mai... if we could only get the funding to mount an expedition to capture a breeding pair, we'd be rich, RICH!
BREAKING NEWS: The Thai cooking pirates have struck again! Doing some research for this entry I discover that Laab is actually LAOTIAN. A pirates life yo ho indeed!
Anyway, this recipe is one that is actually pretty easy, it doesn't require any crazy ingredients and you don't have to pre-prepare any strange pastes by means of heathen moonlight rituals. Which is good.
Leet Pr0k Laab
INGREDIENTS
600g Minced Pr0k
1 Bunch Coriander (roughly chopped
1/4 Bunch Thai Basil (or normal basil will do for this dish)
2 Red Capsicums (diced)
3 Long Red Chilis (seeded I'd recommend, then chopped finely)
3 Bok Choi (just the leaves, roughly shredded)
4 Shallots (Cut finely, the white bits and the green bits separate)
Fish Sauce
5 Limes (juiced)
1 tablespoon Ginger (minced finely)
8 Kaffir Lime Leaves
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
Lemongrass (bruised and tied in a knot)
1 Tablespoon Tamarind Paste
Brown Sugar
OK the trick to this recipe is to make it super stinky and nasty a the start, then add all the other ingredients and get Thai Cooking Pixie to take away the bad smells. First up, cut up all the ingredients so everything is ready to throw in.
Heat your wok and brown the Prok. Ha that rhymes. Throw in the lemongrass, but don't cook it too fast, add the Kaffir lime leaves, and uh... add about 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and the juice of one lime. I can't think of anything to rhyme with leaves, so from here you need to reduce the fluid that comes out of the Pr0k, while letting it absorb the flavour of the Lime, Kaffir leaves, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, tamarind paste and fish sauce. You'll need to cook it for about 15 minutes on a low heat.
Once the Pr0k has reduced and is quite dry it's time to add the other ingredients. First up throw in the white parts of the shallots, and let them cook for a bit. Add another lime and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce at this point. After a minute or two, add the diced capsicum and chili, 3/4 of the coriander and the basil. The recipe is now safe to taste. If it's too salty, add some brown sugar until it's more palatable.
Cook for a further minute, the rest of the lime, more fish sauce, the bok choi and the green parts of the shallots. Once the Bok choi is wilted you're ready to serve! Garnish with the remaining coriander and serve over white rice. There shouldn't be too much fluid with this dish, but it will be very strongly flavoured, and if the Thai Cooking Pixies have done their work, super tasty :)
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