I don’t know about you January this year is going awfully fast don’t you think. Days seem incredibly short. I’m a morning person usually up by 5, even with a few extra hours it just seems there aren’t enough hours in a day. Perhaps, its because hubby’s work is keeping him very busy, endless calls, meetings even after hours and very little time for catching up. While he’s doing his thing it has given me more time to read and also experiment with new flavors. Ive also been working out more adding a short evening routine which feels great and helped with my sleep.
Hubby loves I mean loooves Thai food. Two weeks we go without a Thai curry I get reminded and requests for a green curry. Don’t get me wrong I love Thai but not as much as he does. Im not so much into coconut and prefer lighter Thai recipes that are not doused in coconut milk. This recipe is just that. All the Thai flavors minus the coconut milk. Actually not true I did make coconut rice, though regular rice works perfectly good. You can even serve it in lettuce cups for a carb free alternative. Ive made this recipe with tofu and chicken. Hubby prefers chicken and also enjoys my tofu. I recommend you try both.
Ingredients, Serves 4
For the Spicy Larb
- 2 tablespoons any neutral oil, I like rice bran or avocado oil
- 14 oz organic firm tofu or 1 lb lean ground organic chicken or turkey (try to get really high quality meat if using)
- 3 Persian cucumbers
- 1 inch piece ginger minced
- 6 garlic cloves minced, about a tablespoon
- 1 small onion or medium shallot thinly sliced
- 2-3 red Hot chiles finely sliced, about 1 tablespoon or to your heat tolerance
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce, to your salt taste
- 1 teaspoon organic coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon good quality chili paste, I like sambal oelek
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed
- Steamed Vegetables to serve I like broccoli, snap peas and boy choy
- ½ cup Thai basil, torn
- ½ cup fresh herbs: mint, scallions and cilantro
- Lime wedges
For the Coconut Rice
- 1 cup brown jasmine rice
- 1½ cups water
- 1 cup organic coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 1 lime zested and juiced
- sea salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
- If you’re using tofu( highly recommend), crumble and set aside.
- Break the cucumbers by smacking them with the bottom of a heavy pan. Slice them into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a wok or cast iron pan over high heat. Add the crumbled /minced protein of your choice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the protein undisturbed until bottom is golden and crisp, it should take about 5 minutes. Flip the protein and cook the other side for another 5 minutes. Once this step is done break up the protein back to crumbles.
- Now add the aromatics: ginger, garlic, chili paste (sambal) and fresh chillies. Stir fry vigorously on high heat for 2 minutes till fragrant.
- Add shallot and smashed cucumbers and cook, tossing occasionally and scraping up any browned bits, until cucumbers are slightly soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat and stir in balsamic vinegar, water, fish sauce or soy sauce, and coconut sugar. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, until sauce is absorbed and reduced slightly, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste (remember there’s already plenty of salt in fish and soy sauce)
- Spoon the larb equally over 4 bowls of coconut rice and top with herbs and lime wedges. For added nutrition I serve extra steamed veggies like broccoli snap peas and boy choy.
To make the coconut rice:
- Place the water, coconut milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan or rice cooker. Bring the liquid to boil
- Add the rice and bring to a low simmer. Cover the saucepan and cook undisturbed, for about 15 minutes or the rice cooker turns off automatically.
- Let the rice rest in its steam for another 5 to 10 minutes. Uncover and season with the zest and juice of 1 lime. Serve with Thai dishes.
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