March 22, 2024
Ingredients
• 250 g (½ lb) lean pork, chopped finely
• ¾–1 C carrot, chopped into a ½ cm (¼ in) dice
• ½ C red or brown shallot, chopped
• 3 T duck fat or vegetable oil
• 2 T garlic, chopped
• 2 T fish sauce
• ½–1 t chicken stock powder
• 1–2 t chilli pepper, ground
• 1 T prickly ash berry (mak ken), ground
• 2–3 T Vietnamese mint (or a small handful each of small coriander and mint)
• 1 medium green chilli, finely chopped (or more to taste)
Method
1. Prepare all the chopped ingredients except the herbs.
2. Heat a wok. Add the duck fat or oil. When hot, add the chopped garlic followed by the minced pork, fish sauce and instant stock.
3. Stir fry for 2 minutes until opaque.
4. Toss in the chopped carrot and shallots and swoosh about with a wok spoon or spatula. Sprinkle in the chilli pepper and mak ken. Mix. Keep stir frying until the carrot and shallots are lightly cooked and the pork is done. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
5. Remove the wok from the heat. Finely chop the herbs and mix into the sa. Transfer the mixture to a serving plate.
Variations
• Use firm tofu instead of pork (deep or shallow fry the cubes first and then mince them; alternately, simply crumble the tofu).
• Substitute chicken or duck; thigh meat is the more succulent.
• If mak ken is not available, use Sichuan pepper or a mix of ground Sichuan pepper and black peppercorns.
• For low fat version, use 6 tablespoons of fresh chicken stock to simmer the ingredients rather than sautéing and leave out the stock powder. When the moisture has evaporated, season with salt.
Information by Food from Northern Laos (The Boat Landing Cookbook)
