Thai cuisine · Salads & Mezze

Laab Pla Duk

Catfish fillet cooked and flaked, tossed with toasted rice powder, chili, spring onions and plenty of lime.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 600 g catfish fillet
• 3 tbsp jasmine rice (raw, for toasted rice powder)
• 1.5 tbsp chili powder
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 shallots
• 4 spring onions
• 1 bunch mint
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Toast the raw jasmine rice in a dry pan for 8–10 min., stirring, until golden brown and nutty-smelling, then pound to a coarse powder in a mortar.
2. Salt the catfish fillets and steam them in a steamer basket over boiling water for 8–10 min. until the flesh is white and flakes easily with a fork.
3. Let the fish cool slightly, remove any bones, and flake the flesh into coarse pieces with two forks.
4. Slice only the soft lower third of the lemongrass into paper-thin rings, cut the shallots into thin rings and the spring onions into rings.
5. Gently mix the still-warm fish flakes with lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, chili powder and two-thirds of the toasted rice powder without crushing them.
6. Fold in the lemongrass, shallots, spring onions, mint and cilantro, sprinkle with the remaining toasted rice powder and serve warm with sticky rice.