Laab - Thai Ground Meat Salad - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 teaspoons dry white rice
1 tablespoon cooking oil (if using chicken)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb ground beef
6 shallots, sliced
4 scallions, sliced (green onions)
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves or 1/2 cup cilantro leaf
ground red pepper

Preparation

Dry roast the rice in a skillet until browned, then pound or process to a coarse powder and set aside.
Brown the ground meat with the garlic- If using ground chicken, saute the garlic for a minute in oil first.
Add shallots, scallions, mint leaves and roasted rice powder.
Stir fry until the shallots become limp.
Remove from heat.
Add remaining ingredients.
Let chill slightly.
Serve with rice, cellophane noodles or wrapped in lettuce leaves.