BBC - Radio 4 Woman's Hour -Beef laap

Ingredients

¾ lb lean skirt of beef
4 tablespoons Asian coriander, finely chopped
1 tablespoon spring onion, finely chopped
2 red chillis (optiona)
5cm (2 inch) piece galangal, peeled and finely sliced
3 stalks lemon grass, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce or paa-dek water2 tablespoons lime juice (or more to taste)
half a small white cabbage (optional)
2 tablespoons roasted rice powder (see below)
1 large handful mint leaves, roughly torn

How to make rice powder

Take a small handful of uncooked glutinous rice and heat in a wok/frying pan until golden brown. Crush this into a fine brown powder.

You can also buy ready-made 'roasted rice powder' in Asian stores.

Method

Take the beef and slice it up into slivers using a heavy knife or cleaver (you can buy cleavers in Asian shops and kitchen stores).

Flash fry the beef in a wok for 1½ minutes. Sear until it is tender but do not cook through. Put the chopped meat into a large bowl.

Add the finely chopped coriander, spring onion, chillis and galangal to the bowl of chopped beef. Add the lemon grass, fish sauce or paa-dek and lime juice and mix to your taste.

Now add the chopped cabbage and the rice powder. (If you add these ingredients earlier they soak up all the lime and fish sauce and spoil dish.)

Mix in the mint, add more lime if you wish and serve with a plate of salad and raw vegetables.

Reproduced by kind permission of Natacha Du Pont De Bie
.

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