If you use a whole chicken, separate the offal, meat, skin, tendons, and cartilage.
On a cutting board and using a knife, mince the chicken meat to a smooth consistency. Do not use a meat grinder or an electric food processor.
Gradually add fresh pork blood and continue mincing. Repeat until the minced chicken meat becomes deep red in color and gooey. Set aside.
Prepare the chicken offal:
Slice the chicken offal – the liver, gizzard, and heart – into thin slices.
Boil or fry until cooked. If you are frying them, you can either fry until just cooked or until they are crisp.
Prepare the chicken tendons and cartilage (optional):
On a cutting board and using a knife, mince the chicken cartilage to a rough consistency. Set aside.
Fry the minced tendons and cartilage until they become golden and crispy. Strain and set aside.
Prepare the crispy ingredients (เครื่องหมี่; khreuuang mee)
Slice the chicken skin into thin elongated strips.
Bruise and then thinly slice the lemongrass.
Thinly slice the shallots lengthwise along the growth axis.
Slice the ginger and galangal into thin juliennes.
In a mortar and pestle, pound unpeeled Thai garlic. Use just enough force to mash the garlic cloves, leaving the peels intact. Do not try to make a smooth paste. The peels will crisp fry and add a desired textural element.
Mix the skin, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, galangal, and ginger.
To a cold wok, add all the ingredients. Cover with cold oil and turn the heat to medium-low.
Stir constantly in one direction only until the ingredients are very light golden in color. They will develop a deeper color as they cool.
Strain and set aside.
Prepare the herbs:
Thinly slice the spring onion. Set aside.
Roughly chop the coriander leaves. Set aside.
Roughly chop the sawtooth coriander.
Roughly chop the Vietnamese coriander.
Pick small young mint leaves and use them whole. Larger leaves can be hand-torn. Set aside.
Combine the laap:
Add some of the oil from frying the aromatics to a cold wok; turn the heat to medium-low. Add bruised Thai garlic and fry until fragrant, then add the phrik laap and fry until fragrant.
Add the minced chicken meat and roast-fry until is cooked. Good heat control is essential; as you fry-roast, use water to deglaze and prevent the chicken from sticking to the wok. Continue to roast until the chicken is fully cooked and has absorbed a good amount of smoke.
Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Adjust the spiciness with ground dried chilies.
Adjust saltiness with either fish sauce or makwen-infused fish sauce.
Adjust the spice aroma with the laap spices mix.
Adjust numbness with makwen.
Turn off the heat and add the chicken offal.
Add the tendons and cartilage, and the deep-fried crispy ingredients. Keep some of each for garnish.
Mix.
Add the herbs and mix well. Keep some for garnish.
Serve:
Serve garnished with crispy ingredients, herbs, and the remaining chicken parts.
Serve alongside phak gap laap (ผักกับลาบ) – fresh herbs and vegetables.