Laab Pla Duk (Catfish Chopped Salad)

This is the 3rd recipe for laab/larb/laap that I’ve done now. It’s something we cook quite a lot in our house as it’s easy to do and is fresh tasting and filling too. It’s sort of a salad (but much better than that). Laab is a northern Thai dish and it can come in hundreds of varieties and variations. There’s even one that involves raw pigs blood (though I don’t think I’ll be giving that one a go!) This one made a good change from the chicken or pork versions I’ve done before and the grilled catfish adds a nice smoky depth to the dish. Serve with sticky rice to mop up and juices that are left.

For two people use:

• 1 whole catfish
• 4 (Thai) shallots, sliced
• 3 spring onions, chopped
• a dessert spoon of white rice (for making khao khua- toasted rice powder)
• a big sprinkle of chilli flakes
• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• juice of 1-2 limes
• 2 wedges of white cabbage
• a big handful each of herbs (I used Vietnamese mint and sawtooth culantro- regular mint and coriander are perfectly fine- I just get excited when I see Thai herbs)

Start with the catfish and get it out of the way- mine was jet black in colour and looked pretty angry- put it on foil and shove it under the grill quickly and grill until fully cooked and the skin is crispy, gently turn it over half way through the cooking; it should take 10-15 minutes altogether.
When the fish has cooled down, remove and discard the skin and pick all the flesh of the bones. Use a big knife to roughly chop the fish.
While the fish is cooling make Khao Khua (toasted rice powder). Heat the dessert spoon of rice in a dry wok and keep moving it until it starts to toast, becoming light brown and smelling slightly nutty, about 3-5 minutes. When it’s toasted, pour into a mortar and grind into a fine powder.
Add all the ingredients into a bowl (apart from the herbs and cabbage) and give everything a really good mix together. Serve with the cabbage wedge and herbs alongside.