#fermented tofu

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.

For the prik bon (พริกป่น):

4g dried Thai bird's eye chilis (พริกขี้หนูแดงแห้ง)

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.