Laap

I Love Thai Cuisine, as I have mentioned many times over. The other day I was feeling like a dish called Laap. Laap (pronounced LAH-P) is simply a ground or sliced meat salad with a spicy lime dressing. You can make this with chicken, pork, or turkey. It can also be made with very rare grilled lean beef, sliced thinly, instead of ground like its white meat counterparts. Laap is low fat-nearly zero carbs, and pretty low-calorie. Try it-I guarantee you'll love it!!!

Laap
2 Lbs. Chicken-cut into 1 inch chunks
1 cup chicken stock or water
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
3 Tbs. light brown sugar
4 Thai Chillies-sliced thinly
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leave
1/4 cup diced green onions
2 Roma tomatoes sliced lengthwise
1 head of Romain lettuce or bibb lettuce
2 baby or 1 English cucumbers
2 Tbs. Toasted Rice Powder**
Place the chicken in a food processor with the blade attachment in place and pulse the machine on and off until you have the consistency of hamburger (you can skip this step if you buy pre-ground meat). In a 12" skillet, heat the chicken stock (or water) to a light boil add your ground meat and cover. Cook about 15 minutes.

Remove the cover and continue to cook until all of the liquid has evaporated. (If you are using beef simply grill to your doneness liking and allow to cool on the counter to room temperature). While the meat is cooking mix the next 8 ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Cut the bottom of the lettuce off, and spread the leaves out in the bottom of a large salad bowl. distribute the chicken over the lettuce. spread the cucumbers and tomatoes out in front of the chicken in an attractive fashion.

Ladle the herb and fish sauce mixture over the salad and top with the toasted rice powder. Serve immediately...ENJOY!!!

** TOASTED RICE POWDER-This is very easy to make. place a little rice in your blender and hit the puree button. Allow the rice to turn to powder. In a small saute pan over medium-high heat cook the powder while stirring constantly, until you have a lovely golden brown powder with a nutty fragrance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 months.