Laap issan (thai raw chopped beef with garnishes)

4 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ tablespoon Raw rice
4 smalls Dried red chillies
450 grams Steak, top round;
2 Limes; juice of
3 Stalks lemon grass
1 large Red onion
1 large Bell pepper
10 Mint leaves
2 tablespoons Fish sauce

Directions

NB 1. Chillies should be seeded. 2. Steak should be finely minced 3.

Lemon grass should be finely minced. 4. Onion should be finely chopped 5 Bell pepper should be cored, seeded & chopped.

In small dry frying pan, parch the rice and chillies until the grains are brown and the chillies darkened. Remove the rice & chillies to a mortar or grinder and pound or grind until you have the consistency of coarse sand.

Place the minced steak in a bowl and mix with your hands, adding the ground rice and chillies, lime juice, lemon grass, red onion and green pepper. Chop half of the mint leaves and stir them into the mixture, reserving the remaining mint for garnish. Season this mixture with fish sauce and transfer to a serving dish. Mound attractively, and garnish with mint.

From Thai cooking, Josephine Brennan - "this recipe comes from the Issan Restaurant in Udon, in its original form raw buffalo meat and blood are used. Since most supermarkets don't have a "water buffalo" section I have suggested a common cut of beef steak." Submitted By IAN HOARE On 12-22-94

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