Recipe - Thai Pra Nuea (Beef Salad)

One half pound ground beef
: (or other, see comments)
: lime juice (see method)
2 tablespoon fish sauce
3 tablespoon freshly ground prik pon
: (ground dried red chilis)
2 teaspoon prikthai (freshly ground
: black pepper)
One half cup shallots,
: very thinly cut or sliced up
1 tablespoon lemon grass, bruised and
: cut or sliced up paper thin
3 bai magrut (kaffir lime
: leaves), torn,
: or
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon khao koor
: chopped spring onions,
: coriander/cilantro
: leaves as garnish
: a lettuce leaf for the
: serving plate, and a
: selection of cut or sliced up
: vegetable crudites
: to accompany.

Comments This dish is similar to the common laab dishes, except that
the meat is not cooked (or only very lightly cooked). It originated
in Laos (hence the alternative name of laab lao), and is the common
form found in rural parts of the Isan (North East Thailand). Today,
because of concerns of the sanitary conditions in Thai
slaughterhouses, the official government line is that the meat should
be cooked, and it certainly doesn't make a great difference to the
flavour of the dish if it is lightly cooked. It could also be made
with pork or chicken, and I have succesfully made

it with [jumbo] shrimp, crayfish, crab and lobster. khao koor is
roughly ground toasted rice: you can make it by toasting a couple of
tablespoons of uncooked white long grain rice in a skillet, then
grinding, or you could substitute toasted bread crumbs. method

Place the ground meat in a mixing bowl, and thoroughly mix with fresh
lime juice, and leave to marinade for an hour. Take the marinaded
meat and knead it, much as you would if making pizza dough, squeezing
thoroughly to drive out as much blood and other juice as possible,
either in a muslin bag or a very fine seive such as a chinois. Drain
thoroughly, and return to the mixing bowl, marinade again in fresh
lime juice.

Repeat this process 3 or 4 times, then set aside, covered in a cool
place to marinade a final time (it is not kneaded after the final
marination to underline the point it should be kneaded and drained
3 or 4 times, then marinaded once more).

At this stage you may, if you wish, stir fry the meat very briefly (it
should still be very rare).

Finally combine the meat with the other ingredients: it should be hot
and spicy, but not inedibly so, so add the chili powder in stages,
tasting as you go.

Allow to stand for an hour before serving. To serve turn it onto a
lettuce leaf on a serving platter.

This dish goes best with sticky rice, which can be used as an eating
utensil: form a ball of rice and use it to pick up a little of the
spiced meat. The rice and vegetable crudites will ameliorate the
heat. Note that in the Isan diners usually add additional prik pon
and nam pla prik (chilis in fish sauce) or prik dong (pickled chilis)
to make the dish even hotter! Walt MM

Colonel Ian F. KhuntilanontPhilpott
Posted to MMRecipes Digest V3 #251

Date: Fri, 13 Sep 1996 18:08:44 0400

From: Walt Gray waltgray@mnsinc.com