Laab moo is an Isan dish commonly served with sticky rice and green papaya salad. Ground meat (traditionally pork, but also often chicken or beef) is mixed with fish sauce, ground bird's eye chili, lime juice, and fresh herbs to produce a tangy, savory, and fresh-tasting salad. This vegan version uses marinated TVP and preserved tofu to substitute for pork and fish sauce while retaining the dish's umami, fermented flavor.
Recipe under the cut!
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INGREDIENTS:
For the salad:
2 cups (160g) TVP
2 cups vegetarian 'beef' or 'pork' broth from concentrate
4 Thai shallots, or 1 shallot*
Juice of 2 limes, divided
4 leaves culantro (sawtooth herb / phak chi farang /ผักชีฝรั่ง)**
5 green onions (scallions)
15-20 leaves fresh mint
2 tsp (4g) Thai ground chili (prik bon / พริกป่น)
1 Tbsp vegetarian fish sauce (nam pla / น้ำปลา)
1/4 cup toasted rice (khao khua / ข้าวคั่ว), divided
2 Tbsp neutral oil
pinch sugar (optional)
*Thai shallots are smaller and more pungent than the French red shallots commonly used in Europe and the US. If you can't find them at your local Asian grocery store, substitute another variety of shallot.
**Culantro, an herb used throughout Central and South America and parts of Asia, is similar to cilantro but more pungent. If you can't locate any in your area, substitute 2 bunches cilantro.
Dried bird's eye chilis can be found in bags at Asian grocery stores. They're very cheap (a large bag tends to cost 3-4 USD) and produce a much fresher and more flavorful result than premade prik bon, which may have been sitting on the shelf for months or longer. For best results, do not use chili powder, which includes a large volume of spices and herbs besides ground chilis.
For the fish sauce (nam pla / น้ำปลา):
2 tsp liquid from a jar of fermented tofu
1/2 tsp miso paste
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
Nam pla should taste fermented, ‘funky’, and very salty (not necessarily ‘fishy’ or like seaweed). Any kind of fermented soy bean can be used to achieve the fermented flavor without the fish (miso paste, fermented tofu, light soy sauce—preferably something without much added sugar, vinegar, or chili). Whatever you use should total 1 Tbsp. You may also use something premade—Au Lac makes a good vegan fish sauce.
For the khao khua (ข้าวคั่ว):
1/4 cup dry Thai sticky rice
Thai sticky rice can be found in bags at Asian grocery stores. It is also called “sweet” or “glutinous” rice. In a pinch, you can use dry basmati or jasmine rice instead.
INSTRUCTIONS:
For the prik bon (พริกป่น):
You can make as much prik bon as you like and store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a year, or until it loses its potent smell. You will need about 8 chilis (4g dried) for this recipe.
1. If you don’t have dried chilis: dry bird's eye chili peppers in the sun, in a dehydrator, or in oven on low (about 100-130F for 6 hours) until peppers are dry and crumble easily.
2. Toast dried chilis in a dry skillet on low heat until fragrant and a shade darker.
3. Remove stems. Remove some seeds if you want to reduce heat. Grind chilis using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
For the khao khua (ข้าวคั่ว):
1. Toast 1/4 cup rice in a dry pan until golden brown and fragrant.
2. Grind to preferred texture—some people like it a bit crunchy to give texture to the dish, but you can also grind it to a fine powder if desired.
For the fish sauce (nam pla / น้ำปลา):
1. Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until well combined.
For the pork:
1. Hydrate TVP for 10 minutes in a large bowl with broth and the juice of one lime.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp of a neutral oil in a large skillet on medium high. Bloom the prik bon in the oil for 30 seconds until fragrant.
3. Add hydrated TVP and cook until lightly browned. Traditionally, laab is slightly undercooked.
4. Remove from heat and mix in remaining ingredients (juice of one lime, fish sauce, culantro, shallots, and green onions) except for mint and half of toasted rice. Taste and adjust fish sauce, lime juice, and chili to preference.
5. Top with mint and remaining toasted rice. Serve with lettuce, string beans, Thai steamed rice, or papaya salad.
Lettuce with Fermented Tofu (腐乳炒生菜) | 5 Ingredients Simple Chinese Stir-fry
A simple recipe with just five ingredients: Fermented tofu with lettuce stir-fry.
Think of cheese or kimchi—any fermented item will produce exceptional flavors, and tofu is no exception.
Fermented tofu (beancurd) has become a staple in many Chinese dishes, including this one. Because it is already packed with flavor, there is no need to add many more ingredients.
It is light, vibrant, and packed with irresistible wok aroma. This recipe showcases the magic of minimal ingredients—crunchy lettuce, garlic, chili, and fermented beancurd—working in harmony.
Let’s get cooking and bring this Asian classic to your table!
Bio Fermented Products is the New Trend leads by Liana Health Care Pvt Ltd
The Conscious Ayurveda .............................
Bio Fermented Products Range by Liana Health Care Ltd.
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To put it simply, products such as wine, beer, curd, bread are all fermented products. Fermented products are produced through controlled microbial growth or using enzymatic action.
What are the advantages of bio fermented products?
One of the key result of bio fermentation process is the production of microbial secondary metabolites-these metabolites play a very important role for human health. They are molecules of low molecular weight that are key in defense against harmful environmental conditions.
The fermentation process also helps in producing enzymes that are essential for bodily functions such as digestion and can be used in a wide range of products for variety of benefits.
Fermented food are also aids in pre-digestion. Any meal that we eat takes around 4-6 hours to get digested. However, in the fermentation process microbes feed on sugars and starch and break down the food. This helps in better and faster digestion once we consume it as it has already been consumed once! Another benefit of this process is the immediate absorption by human body. Pre digested or fermented food are easily absorbed and can start their work immediately after being consumed. Just how alcohol, which is a fermented product is easily absorbed into our bloodstream.
What are we doing at Liana Health Care Ltd.?
In our quest for the best, we have manufactured a bunch of products that will be made through the process of bio fermentation. This will allow the products to begin their work immediately on consumption. No more waiting to see desired results ! To know what range of products we have lined up for you, watch out this space for updates!
