Ground Turkey Laap

There's a great article in this month's (Feb 2011) Food & Wine magazine about the cuisine of Laos, a small country nestled between Vietnam and Thailand. Each of the recipes featured struck my fancy but I selected this simple ground turkey dish to start with.


It's light and healthy with fresh, bright flavors bursting through. I loved it as an appetizer in crunchy Belgian endive cups and tomorrow I will enjoy the leftovers atop some sticky brown rice, perhaps with a dash of soy sauce and some of my favorite home made Sriracha sauce.

It was so quick and easy to make - something you would never believe from tasting it. One of the most interesting things about the dish to me was the technique of toasting a small amount of rice and then grinding it in a spice grinder/coffee grinder. You add the rice powder to the dish at the end and it helps to gently bind the flavors together.

Ground Turkey Laap

(adapted from Food & Wine)

Serves 4 as an entree, more as an appetizer

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon long-grain white rice

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound ground all-natural organic turkey breast (white meat)

1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons chicken stock

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce (I used Thai)

Salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Juice of 1 lime

2 large stalks lemongrass, tender pale inner core only, minced

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced and separated into rings

1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1/2 cup fresh chopped mint

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

thinly sliced green onions (optional)

Belgian endive leaves (optional)

extra lime wedges for serving

In a large skillet, toast the dry rice over high heat turning in the skillet until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Remove the rice and place in the spice grinder and let it cool. Once cooled, grind the rice to a powder, then set aside. You could probably also use a blender.

Return the skillet to the stove, lower the heat to medium high and add the oil. Next add the turkey and cook, breaking it up with a spatula while it cooks. Cook until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and stir, continuing to cook until bubbling, less than a minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the fish sauce. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the lime juice. Let stand for 5 minutes, then add the lemongrass, shallot, cilantro, mint, crushed red pepper, rice powder, and green onion if desired. Stir and serve in endive cups or with rice.

Ground Turkey Laap