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Salty and savory Issan laap of fish that can be served either raw or cooked.
In rural Issan, temples are used as schools, with senior monks providing basic spiritual and secular education to youths. Each dawn, the teenage novice monks, attired in orange robes, walk the village streets with their alms bowls to collect food. Their mothers wake up early, often before sunrise, to prepare food for the monks; a meritorious ritual that weaves together spiritual and maternal care.
This Issan laap dish is among the mothers’ favorite offerings for the novice monks. The dish bears an auspicious name and is quick to prepare; it requires few ingredients, most of which can be collected around the house, and a charcoal stove is used to both cook the broth and grill the eggplants.
Whole garlic heads, shallots and eggplants are ash-roasted, covered by the hot charcoals. As the broth is cooking, the fish meat is minced. The hot grilled eggplants, garlic and shallots are added to the fish and minced together. Then, the laap is diluted with the savory broth called naam nuaa (น้ำนัว), along with rock salt, ground roasted rice and ground dried chili.
Just in time, the laap is ready. The mother wraps it in a banana leaf parcel with hot steamed gelatinous rice and herbs. She rushes to the door to await her son, who will open his alms bowl to receive his mother’s handmade food. Without speaking or even meeting her eyes, he grants her a blessing earned by her food and her mother’s love.
This laap can be served either raw or cooked.
Please Note: While Thaifoodmaster does not claim to provide authoritative medical advice, we believe that raw freshwater fish meat consumption is unsafe and should be avoided. Therefore, if you use Tilapia fish meat – or any other freshwater fish – to prepare this dish, we recommend serving it cooked. However, since in Issan it is mostly consumed raw, in the recipe below, we marked the cooking stage of the laap as ‘optional’.
Essential Cooking Skills:
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Ingredients
- 500 g tilapia fish (ปลานิล)
For the savory broth (น้ำนัว ; naam nuaa)
- 2 cups water (น้ำเปล่า)
- 1 stalk lemongrass (ตะไคร้)
- 1 tablespoon seasoned fermented fish sauce (naam pla ra) (น้ำปลาร้าปรุงรส)
Grill charred or roasted ingredients:
- 1 apple eggplants (มะเขือเปราะ) whole, grill charred or roasted
- 5 cloves Chinese garlic (กระเทียมจีน) whole, grill charred or roasted
- 5 pieces shallots (หอมแดง) whole, grill charred or roasted
- 1/2 teaspoon rock salt (เกลือสินเธาว์)
Seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon ground roasted glutinous rice (khao khua) (ข้าวคั่ว)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground dried chili (พริกป่น)
The herbs:
- 1 tablespoon coriander leaves (ใบผักชี) roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon spring onion (ต้นหอม) thinly sliced
- 1/2 tablespoon mint leaves (ใบสะระแหน่) hand torn
Serve alongside:
Instructions
Prepare the grill-charred ingredients:
- On a charcoal grill or in a pan, char roast the garlic, shallots and eggplants. Allow to cool, then peel and set aside.
Prepare the fish:
- Clean the fish and fillet the meat, reserving the heads and bones.
- On a cutting board and using a knife, mince the fish meat to a very smooth consistency. As you mince the meat, its consistency will become gooey. Do not use a meat grinder or an electric food processor.
- Add the grilled ingredients.
- Continue mincing and pounding with the knife until they are incorporated into the fish meat. Set aside.
Prepare the savory broth (น้ำนัว ; naam nuaa):
- In a pot bring water, seasoned fermented fish sauce, and lemongrass to a strong boil.
- Add the fish head and bones.
- Skim off any foam and scum floating on top of the stock. Simmer on low heat and reduce to a concentrated stock. Strain and set aside.
Prepare the herbs:
- Thinly slice the spring onion. Set aside.
- Roughly chop the coriander leaves. Set aside.
- Pick small young mint leaves and use them whole. Set aside.
Combine the laap:
- In a mixing bowl, bring the minced fish meat to a wet consistency with the savory broth.
- Taste and adjust the saltiness to your liking, using rock salt. It should be salty and savory.
- When you are satisfied with the seasoning, add ground roasted glutinous rice and ground dried chili.
- Add the herbs, and mix.
- Serve raw as is or continue to cook the laap.
Cooking the laap (optional):
- In a pan, over low medium heat, roast the finished laap – including the seasonings and aromatics – until the fish is cooked. Serve warm.
Spicy Salad of Grilled Tiger Prawns, Mackerel, Lemongrass and Aromatics with Infused Fermented Fish Innards Dressing (ไตปลาทรงเครื่อง ; dtai bpla sohng khreuuang)
If we could strip away the spices, the seasonings, the vegetables and the herbs from savory dishes we could uncover their naked flavor profile core. There, we would encounter a strong savory-umami, sometimes coupled with other basic elements of smoke and fat. This flavor core is, for us humans, the sought-after taste of protein; our first sip of mother’s milk, and the primal experience of burned game meat on the fire.
Today we would like to highlight a powerhouse for umami creation: the fermentation process. We will focus on fermented fish innards from southern Thailand (dtai bpla ไตปลา), one of about a dozen fermented products used in the country. We will show you how chefs for the capital’s elite, as early as or, before the reign of King Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai (Rama II, 1767-1824), harnessed its wild nature and created a dish similar to what we present today – a salad with infused fermented fish innards dressing.
Fermented Rice Noodles Served with Pineapple, Fish Balls in Coconut Milk, Grilled Curried Fish Cakes, Young Ginger and Dry Shrimp Powder
(ขนมจีนซาวน้ำ ; khanohm jeen saao naam )
For the khanohm jeen saao naam version that we present today, we turn again to the writing of Thanpuying (Lady) Gleep Mahithaawn for her unique take on the dish. Her version is quite similar to the common recipe encountered nowadays, but Lady Gleep enhances it with more ingredients, elevating the dish yet another notch to the level of a majestic masterpiece.
Thai Relish of Fermented Fish, Grilled Catfish, Pork and Shrimp (ปลาร้าผัดทรงเครื่องสูตรสายเยาวภา ; bplaa raa phat sohng khreuuang, suut saai yao wa phaa)
Fish fermentation consists of a simple salt-curing process: mixing or coating a whole fish, sliced fish or minced fish meat with salt and rice husks (or ground roasted rice). The mixture is then allowed to rest and ferment for few months. This fermentation process creates deep, intense umami flavor agents accompanied by a strong stench. It is only with culinary sagacity and skill that cooks are able to harness and direct these powerful flavors within the context of an appetizing dish, and to constrain the odor to an agreeable intensity.
Southern Thai Ancient Fermented Fish Innards Curry with Grilled Catfish (แกงไตปลาปลาดุกย่างโบราณ ; gaaeng dtai bplaa bplaa dook yaang)
แกงไตปลาปลาดุกย่างโบราณ – Fermented fish innards curry is a dense curry made of fermented fish innards is dark coffee-brown in color – a salty, fiery hot dish, it grips the palate in an intense umami embrace. As the flagship dish in the repertoire of spicy southern Thai cuisine, it comes in different versions: some are water based; some have a base of coconut cream. But whatever the style, it is a fiercely hot dish that features both dried and fresh chilies.
Thai Chili Jam – This is a chili jam similar to what is commonly sold under the name of roasted chili paste (naam phrik phao; น้ำพริกเผา). It is widely used as a condiment in salad dressings, soups, and seasoning for stir-fried dishes. I like to have control over my pantry ingredients, so I always use homemade naam phrik phao. Furthermore, since it is a basic ingredient used in so many dishes, anything less than the best will drastically impair the quality of your dishes.
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