{"id":18894,"date":"2012-08-01T00:04:50","date_gmt":"2012-08-01T07:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/?p=18894"},"modified":"2012-08-01T00:04:50","modified_gmt":"2012-08-01T07:04:50","slug":"cambodia-with-laab-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/18894","title":{"rendered":"Cambodia: with Laab recipe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tFor some of my Geography journal entries, my friend, Alyson O\u00fcten,\u00a0takes you around the globe, from the sunshine state of California<\/a>, to her backyard<\/a> in Boise, Idaho, the streets of Europe<\/a>, and beyond. Today, she is off to Cambodia to bask in the historical wonders of this ancient civilization. Take it from here, Aly. It\u2019s all yours!!!!!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of those places I thought I\u2019d only visit in history or geography books. And yet there I was \u2026 staring, not at a page, but at the most well-preserved Hindu (later turned Buddhist) temple in the world. Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century in this region of Cambodia that would later gain infamy for its killing fields under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While Angkor Wat is the most well known and most visited of the temples in Cambodia, I was fortunate to have a guide well versed in the temple treasures hidden in the lush landscape surrounding the city of Siem Reap.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"Solin Aing not only educated me on Hindu and Buddhist architecture and folklore, but she also took me to her local market.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It felt like a movie set \u2026 not a fancy, elegant one, but a gritty, foreign set where the senses are overwhelmed with never-before-smelled aromas and never-before-tasted fruits.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"My top two favorites both look like Dr. Suess creations. The purple mangosteen with its colorful outer covering and its sweet, tangy, and juicy flesh.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And the crazy strawberry-looking rambutan with its lychee-like fruit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Of course \u2026 this is also the part of the world from which the much-maligned durian fruit hails. I\u2019d seen various celebrity chefs make a big deal over choking down the stinky fruit on food-channel shows, so I was prepared for the worst …<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

I gotta be honest \u2026 I don\u2019t know what the fuss is all about. No, it didn\u2019t smell delicious, but it wasn\u2019t repulsive. And the fruit? Well \u2026 it\u2019s just okay. Nothing to spit out, but I don\u2019t need to have a heaping helping of it either. Solin was also great about directing me to authentic restaurants of the region. I confess \u2026 to my uneducated palate, the food in Cambodia looked and tasted very similar to Thai food (of which I am more familiar). And that should be taken as a compliment.<\/p>\n

\"\"The food is fresh and featured lots of herbs. You see a lot of spicy seafood-filled soups on menus and rice noodle dishes. But, my favorite was the laab.<\/p>\n

\"\"Now \u2026 laab is the name I\u2019m most familiar with, but on the menus it was also spelled larb or lab. Regardless \u2026 it\u2019s a great minty meat dish. In America, it\u2019s often served with lettuce leaves and the meat is spooned in like a taco. In Cambodia, it was simply eaten as is \u2026 no extra lettuce to fuss with.<\/p>\n

This recipe seems very close to what I devoured in an unassuming little restaurant near my hotel. Simple, delicious, and simply delicious!!<\/p>\n

LAAB (Thai Salad)
\nPREP TIME: 45 MINUTES
\nCOOK TIME: 13-16 MINUTES
\nMAKES: 4 SERVINGS<\/p>\n

1\u00bd\u00a0 lbs ground chicken or turkey
\n2\/3\u00a0 cup chicken broth
\n2\/3\u00a0 cup lime juice
\n1\/3\u00a0 cup fish sauce
\n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 t sugar
\n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 T Thai chili paste
\n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 cup green beans, cut into 1\u201d pieces
\n1\u00be\u00a0 cup green onions, thinly sliced
\n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 cup shallots, thinly sliced
\n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 medium stalks lemongrass, minced
\n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Serrano pepper, halved, seeds removed, and thinly sliced
\n1\/3\u00a0 cup cilantro leaves, minced
\n1\/3\u00a0 cup mint leaves, minced<\/p>\n

1. Add turkey to a large skillet. Pour in chicken broth. Cook over medium heat until turkey is cooked (about 10 minutes).
\n2. While turkey is cooking, combine lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili paste in a small bowl; set aside.
\n3. After turkey is fully cooked, add green beans, green onions, lemongrass, and peppers. Cook for about 3 minutes, until beans are tender-crisp.
\n4. Stir in sauce, cilantro, and mint. Serve alone or over greens.<\/p>\n

Gather ingredients.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Add 1\u00bd lbs ground turkey to pan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pour in chicken broth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"Cook over medium heat until turkey is cooked (about 10 minutes).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While turkey is cooking, pour 2\/3 cup lime juice into a bowl.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Add 1\/3 cup fish sauce.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Add 2 t sugar.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then 2 T Thai chili paste.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mix together and set aside.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Once turkey has been cooked thoroughly, add 1 cup green beans, cut into 1\u201d pieces.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Add 1\u00be cup thinly sliced green onions.<\/p>\n

\"\"Along with 1 cup thinly sliced shallots.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then 2 medium stalks of minced lemongrass.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Add 1 halved and thinly sliced Serrano pepper, with seeds removed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Stir together. Cook for about 3 minutes, until beans are tender-crisp.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pour in sauce.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Add cilantro and mint.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Stir together.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Serve alone or over greens.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For some of my Geography journal entries, my friend, Alyson O\u00fcten,\u00a0takes you around the globe, from the sunshine state of California, to her backyard in Boise, Idaho, the streets of Europe, and beyond. Today, she is off to Cambodia to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[46,132,347,750],"class_list":["post-18894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-geography","tag-alyson","tag-cambodia","tag-geography-2","tag-recipe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18894\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}