After reading Pok-Pok (restaurants in Portland, OR and NYC), I used his method of mince-chopping the meat with a cleaver rather than using ground meat. He says it makes a difference; I just like the physical release of repeatedly banging a sharp object on a wooden cutting board. After all is said and done, I'm not sure it made a difference in cooked texture, but I KNEW that it was 100% natural chicken breast, without skin or fat. Not sure I can say the same for purchased ground chicken.
I added a bit more veggies (3 thinly sliced carrots) and 4 oz of browned shitake (to remove excess moisture). I found Thai basil, mint and cilantro at the Oriental grocery store, so I used a boat-load of those. And I added about half a tablespoon of the following spice mixture:
Here is the original list from Pok Pok and my (comments) on whether I used, substituted, or omitted. I have to assume from the number of chilies and peppers used that the original should end up really hot and spicy. But ours ended up slightly spicy and very flavorful. And since it's just us, I make a big old salad, piling the shredded lettuce in bowls, topping with a scoop of basmati rice with sauteed onions and cilantro, adding the cooked chicken and topping off with more fresh herbs, diced cucumbers and tomatoes, squeezing a fresh lime half over each bowl and then spooning on the juices from the pan as a dressing.
Yum, yum, yum
Naam phrik laap (laap seasoning paste)
1 ounce stemmed dried Mexican puya chilies (about 12) (omitted as I don't even have a clue where to find these)
1 tablespoon makhwaen, black Sichuan peppercorns, or whole black peppercorns (used)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds (used)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (used)
1/2 teaspoon ground dried galangal (used)
1/2 teaspoon ground dried lemongrass (used)
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns (used)
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (used)
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (used, thanks Marg!)
4 cloves (used)
2 dried Indonesian long peppers (called pippali in Indian and Malay markets, dippli in Thai markets, tiêu lớp in Vietnamese markets) (used whatever short, red, dried Thai chilies I had from Penzy's)
1 star anise (used)
1 whole mace (omitted)
1 cardamom pod, preferably the white, rounder Thai variety (used 4 of what I had; probably not Thai}
1 teaspoon kosher salt (used)
The remaining ingredients are used to make a paste. I sauteed the garlic and shallots with the chicken, but did not go the paste method:
1 ounce peeled garlic, halved lengthwise (used)
2 ounces peeled Asian shallots, thinly sliced against the grain (used)
1 tablespoon Kapi Kung (Homemade shrimp paste) (omitted)
Make the naam phrik laap (laap seasoning paste)
Put the chiles in a small dry pan or wok, increase the heat to high to get the pan hot, then decrease the heat to low. Cook, stirring and flipping them frequently to make sure both sides of the chiles make contact with the hot pan, until the chiles are brittle and very dark brown (nearly black) all over, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chiles from the pan as they’re finished. (Discard any seeds that escape the chiles, because they’ll be burnt and bitter.) Set the chiles aside.
Combine the makhwen, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, ground galangal, ground lemongrass, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, nutmeg, cloves, long peppers, star anise, mace, and cardamom in a small pan, set the pan over low heat, and cook, stirring and tossing often, until they’re very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir for another minute. Grind them in a spice grinder (or pound them in a granite mortar) to a fairly fine powder
http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=25660
I added a bit more veggies (3 thinly sliced carrots) and 4 oz of browned shitake (to remove excess moisture). I found Thai basil, mint and cilantro at the Oriental grocery store, so I used a boat-load of those. And I added about half a tablespoon of the following spice mixture:
Here is the original list from Pok Pok and my (comments) on whether I used, substituted, or omitted. I have to assume from the number of chilies and peppers used that the original should end up really hot and spicy. But ours ended up slightly spicy and very flavorful. And since it's just us, I make a big old salad, piling the shredded lettuce in bowls, topping with a scoop of basmati rice with sauteed onions and cilantro, adding the cooked chicken and topping off with more fresh herbs, diced cucumbers and tomatoes, squeezing a fresh lime half over each bowl and then spooning on the juices from the pan as a dressing.
Yum, yum, yum
Naam phrik laap (laap seasoning paste)
1 ounce stemmed dried Mexican puya chilies (about 12) (omitted as I don't even have a clue where to find these)
1 tablespoon makhwaen, black Sichuan peppercorns, or whole black peppercorns (used)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds (used)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (used)
1/2 teaspoon ground dried galangal (used)
1/2 teaspoon ground dried lemongrass (used)
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns (used)
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (used)
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (used, thanks Marg!)
4 cloves (used)
2 dried Indonesian long peppers (called pippali in Indian and Malay markets, dippli in Thai markets, tiêu lớp in Vietnamese markets) (used whatever short, red, dried Thai chilies I had from Penzy's)
1 star anise (used)
1 whole mace (omitted)
1 cardamom pod, preferably the white, rounder Thai variety (used 4 of what I had; probably not Thai}
1 teaspoon kosher salt (used)
The remaining ingredients are used to make a paste. I sauteed the garlic and shallots with the chicken, but did not go the paste method:
1 ounce peeled garlic, halved lengthwise (used)
2 ounces peeled Asian shallots, thinly sliced against the grain (used)
1 tablespoon Kapi Kung (Homemade shrimp paste) (omitted)
Make the naam phrik laap (laap seasoning paste)
Put the chiles in a small dry pan or wok, increase the heat to high to get the pan hot, then decrease the heat to low. Cook, stirring and flipping them frequently to make sure both sides of the chiles make contact with the hot pan, until the chiles are brittle and very dark brown (nearly black) all over, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chiles from the pan as they’re finished. (Discard any seeds that escape the chiles, because they’ll be burnt and bitter.) Set the chiles aside.
Combine the makhwen, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, ground galangal, ground lemongrass, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, nutmeg, cloves, long peppers, star anise, mace, and cardamom in a small pan, set the pan over low heat, and cook, stirring and tossing often, until they’re very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir for another minute. Grind them in a spice grinder (or pound them in a granite mortar) to a fairly fine powder
http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=25660