• About
  • Blog Journal Index
  • Recipes
  • The Team

10 Legs in the Kitchen

~ Food. Dogs. Life!

10 Legs in the Kitchen

Monthly Archives: July 2018

Larb Gai – an unusual grind

08 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by Stacey Bender in the kitchen

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

larb

PS_IMG_3140

I had a surprising revelation while I was making my dog’s food the other day.

Previously, I quickly figured out that their food is much healthier and sometimes of better quality than the meals Tom and I eat.  But that wasn’t it; that wasn’t news to me.

It also hadn’t taken me long before realizing that if you have really good-quality meat, cooking it without the fat and seasonings we humans like to use, doesn’t compromise the flavor.  Yes, I snack on their food as I cook it.

What I hadn’t considered though, is grinding cooked meat.  I used to start out with raw ground meat, which I often ground myself (wait, can you still call it ground meat when you put it in a food processor?).  Yes?  I agree.

So, the other day, I had just baked off some large turkey breasts and when they had cooled down, I chunked the meat and put it into my Magimix.  What I ended up with was highly flavorful, nicely minced meat.

Okay, so this was not an earth-shattering revelation, I realize.  However, seeing as I had simultaneously been contemplating what to make for dinner, I realized the answer was, of course, Larb Gai!

Larb basically translates to “minced meat”.  Of course the Gai is for chicken, but I have no idea what turkey is in Thai.  But anyway, since I was staring down at a Magimix full of minced turkey meat… I knew what I needed to do next, regardless of the proper naming.

Yes, you guessed it, I needed to make more of that minced meat.  You knew I wouldn’t steal the meat I had minced for my fur babies, now didn’t you?

So I did.  Minced more meat, that is.

The first time Tom ordered Larb Gai from our old favorite Thai restaurant, Rama’s on Post (sadly no longer around), I was dubious.  Not because Tom’s dad said it was the best Thai food outside of Thailand, but because the sound of a minced chicken salad kind of gave me the willies.  I know, is that actually a thing?

It turned out to be delicious.  For awhile, I couldn’t get enough.

I had to get past the fish sauce first, of course. Which I did and my refrigerator has not been without it for the past twenty years.

So, if you find yourself with a 1/2 lb of chicken breast (or turkey) that you don’t know what to do with and you are craving something light and crisp, salty and sweet with as much spice as your tongue will allow, this is what you should do:

IMG_3146

MAKE LARB

  1. Put that breast (of chicken or turkey meat) on a baking sheet, adding just a wee bit of water (Stacey speak for about a 1/2 cup).
  2. Cover it with foil.  Bake it at, say, 350-degrees F; it’s not all that particular, as long as the meat is cooked through.
  3. As the meat cooks, you can toast some brown (or white) rice.  I like to use about 1/2 cup dried.  When it is toasted, around 10 minutes in, let it cool then puree it in a grinder.
  4. Meanwhile, make a dressing by mixing together 2 TB fish sauce, 1 TB coconut sugar, (or whatever kind you have), 4 TB lime juice, a piece of chopped spicy chile pepper (such as a thai chili, jalepeno or seranno, or again, whatever you might have), and 7 TB of hot water (from the tap is just fine, albeit better if filtered).
    1. Sirracha sauce is also kind of a must-have.  You can mix it into your dressing with sheer abandon or dole it out slowly, using a cautious hand.  I like to build up the heat to just a comfortable burn.  This allows others to add to the fire at their discretion, should they choose (AKA: pass the bottle to serve on the side).
    2. Give it a taste, adjusting as needed.  I sometimes like to add extra lime juice to give it more tang.  The sugar will help offset the heat and the water will balance the salt from the fish sauce.  Information for your own personal use.  Just say’in, have fun!

4.  Dice up a sweet onion and chop a tassel of fresh basil, cilantro and mint.

5.  When the breast of bird is cooked and cooled, mince it quickly in a food processor.

6.  Mix together the minced meat, ground rice, dressing, sirracha sauce (as much as you dare), onions and herbs.

7.  Adjust the flavors.

8.  Serve a mound of the mixture over a leaf of lettuce or cabbage.  If serving on individual plates, put enough leaves to be filled and wrapped in proportion.

9.  Cooked brown or white rice is a nice side.  Cucumber slices tossed in a little white or rice vinegar + sugar + salt are a nice garnish.

Don’t forget, as I mentioned, make sure to have fun (and good to share in a group)!

trough

Chow hounds at the trough…

 

sun dogs.JPG

Stuffed

 

Follow Blog via Email

Care to join us in our food and life adventures? Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 184 other subscribers

Archives

  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • August 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013

Recent Posts

  • Squash Blossoms and Dad
  • Pork (for Dad), Polenta (for Linda) & the Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree
  • Snow Day Chili, an Update
  • A Man with a Can and a Plan – Pig in a Pinwheel
  • Fireworks, Firetrucks, Pancakes and the Fourth!

Recent Comments

Jamie Bryan on A simple past: lots of garlic,…
Maria on One fish, red fish, fresh fish…
The Healthy Epicurea… on Squash Blossoms and Dad
Lois Bender-Casto on Squash Blossoms and Dad
Linda Brown on Squash Blossoms and Dad

Archives

  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • August 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013

Categories

  • at the holidays
  • beach mode
  • Beverages
  • Breakfast/Brunch
  • cooking basics
  • Eating Out
  • family gatherings
  • From the journals
  • Ginger + Buddy
  • Ginger + Winston (and Buddy too)
  • Health
  • holidays
  • Reviews
  • the kitchen
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

© 2013–2023 Stacey Bender. All rights reserved.

Powered by WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...