Laap was one of my mother's favourite Thai dishes. It is spicy, salty, tart and fresh all in one bite. It is usually made with ground pork or chicken and is often served with raw cabbage leaves, fresh herbs and sticky rice. I wanted to try and create a vegetarian version (I did use fish sauce for authenticity) with a meaty texture and I think this recipe is Bang On. For a little added depth of flavour I cooked my lentils with kaffir lime leaves and crushed garlic. If you don't have any kaffir lime leaves you could cook the lentils with just the garlic, they will still be delicious.
In this recipe I also use a mortar and pestle, if you don't own one, go buy one! Just kidding.
In this recipe I also use a mortar and pestle, if you don't own one, go buy one! Just kidding.
Instead of using a mortar and pestle you can finely dice the chilli and garlic, mix it with the lime juice and fish sauce and let it all sit together for 15 minutes or so. Instead of smashing the red lentils in the mortar and pestle, you could use a small food processor. There are always ways around things, fear not.
Lentil and Mushroom Laap
¾ cup green lentils
⅓ cup red lentils
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
2 cloves of garlic
1 bird’s eye chilli
the juice of 1 lime (about 3 tbsp)
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 cups of water
¼ cup of roughly chopped mint
¼ cup of roughly chopped coriander
¼ cup of roughly chopped basil (I used Thai basil)
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 cups of thickly sliced mushrooms (I used white, cremini and shitake)
1 medium shallot thinly sliced
Put 2 cups of water, the green lentils, kaffir lime leaves and 1 clove of garlic smashed into a pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn down to a simmer for about 45 minutes or until lentils are tender but not mushy. If more water is needed or needs to be drained when they are done please adjust. Remove the leaves and clove of garlic and discard.
In a small saute pan add your uncooked red lentils and lightly brown over a medium heat. Keep an eye on them and shake them frequently for even browning. Once they have turned a nice light brown around the edges, remove them from the heat. Put them into a mortar and pestle and smash and grind them until they have broken down. You don’t want them to be powder, they should still have a little texture.
Heat an oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Put the sliced mushrooms in a pile in the middle of the cookie sheet and pour the olive oil over them and toss. Spread them out so they are not too crowded. Bake for 20 minutes.
For the dressing, cut the last clove of garlic into chunks and put into the mortar pestle. Use as much or as little of the chilli as you want. I used ¾ of mine but I shook out a few of the seeds and then chopped into pieces and put in the mortar. Smash the chilli and garlic together until they are like a paste. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and mix well.
Toss together your lentils, mushrooms, shallot, herbs, dressing and 2 tsp of the smashed red lentils. Taste and adjust, should be sour, spicy, salty and delicious.
Serves 4 as a side dish.
¾ cup green lentils
⅓ cup red lentils
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
2 cloves of garlic
1 bird’s eye chilli
the juice of 1 lime (about 3 tbsp)
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 cups of water
¼ cup of roughly chopped mint
¼ cup of roughly chopped coriander
¼ cup of roughly chopped basil (I used Thai basil)
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 cups of thickly sliced mushrooms (I used white, cremini and shitake)
1 medium shallot thinly sliced
Put 2 cups of water, the green lentils, kaffir lime leaves and 1 clove of garlic smashed into a pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn down to a simmer for about 45 minutes or until lentils are tender but not mushy. If more water is needed or needs to be drained when they are done please adjust. Remove the leaves and clove of garlic and discard.
In a small saute pan add your uncooked red lentils and lightly brown over a medium heat. Keep an eye on them and shake them frequently for even browning. Once they have turned a nice light brown around the edges, remove them from the heat. Put them into a mortar and pestle and smash and grind them until they have broken down. You don’t want them to be powder, they should still have a little texture.
Heat an oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Put the sliced mushrooms in a pile in the middle of the cookie sheet and pour the olive oil over them and toss. Spread them out so they are not too crowded. Bake for 20 minutes.
For the dressing, cut the last clove of garlic into chunks and put into the mortar pestle. Use as much or as little of the chilli as you want. I used ¾ of mine but I shook out a few of the seeds and then chopped into pieces and put in the mortar. Smash the chilli and garlic together until they are like a paste. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and mix well.
Toss together your lentils, mushrooms, shallot, herbs, dressing and 2 tsp of the smashed red lentils. Taste and adjust, should be sour, spicy, salty and delicious.
Serves 4 as a side dish.
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