First of all, WELCOME and please bare with me as I ramble on with my attempt at one of my all time favorite Laos party dishes: Nam Khao Tod aka Fried Rice Ball Salad.
So, and in all honesty, I never "got" this dish as a kid, but it was a staple @ every Laos party I ever went to... I always understood it to be the cousin of the infamous, fried rice, but tasted nothing like it at all. To me, it was lacking in flavor, and just plain boring. As I grew older (and more mature...right), I realized I was just eating it all wrong. The reason why it did not appeal to me is because I did not go through the proper steps to eat it properly... similarily eaten like a lettuce wrap (paan). Now that I know how to eat it, I just can't get enough of this tasty treat:
Step 1: Grab some lettuce
Step 2: Add your favorites veggies and mints
Step 3: Spoon in some delicious nam khao
Step 4: Place a half or whole fried chili peppers (optional, but this is my favorite part)
Step 4: Shove it all into your mouth!
And finally, below is my rendition of the step-by-step recipe:
Nam Khao Tod
(serves 4-6)
Ingredients
For the rice balls:
3 cups cooked rice
1 ½ cup ground pork1 egg
3 tbsp red curry paste
½ tsp white pepper powder
½ tsp paprika
pinch of salt
For the salad mixture:
3 sticks of nam (cured/fermented pork sausage) - available at almost any Asian market
pinch of salt
½ cup red onion
¼ cup shredded ginger
½ cup cilantro cut ¾ inch long
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp crushed red peppers
1 cup toasted peanuts
3 cups vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
Mix rice, pork, egg, curry paste, white pepper powder, paprika and salt together.
Make 8-10 flat shape patties of the rice mixture, similiar to hamburgers for easier frying. Tip: Add a little oil to your bare hands or gloves, if you are wearing them. This will help from getting your hands and gloves all sticky.
Heat up the oil until very hot and deep fry about 4-5 minutes for each side or until golden brown. The
outside of the rice balls will be very hard and crispy. Set aside to cool.
Now would be the best time to fry your chili peppers. Using the same pan and oil, drop the whole dry chili peppers in the hot oil. Scope them out after a few seconds. They take no time to cook, and very easy to burn (which I've done several times).
Next, crumble fried rice balls into small chunks. Then, slice nam ticks into 2 inch thick slices and break up into small chucks, same as the rice balls.
Mix nam and rice chunks together and season with fish sauce and some lime juice. Add salt, chili pepper, cilantro, ginger, red onions, roasted peanuts and mix well. Taste and add any additional seasons, such as salt or more lime or fish sauce.
And viola ... the finished product ... super yummy in my tummy!
Whew... not too bad. Again, thanks for taking the time to stop by and read my ramblings. Cooking is my passion and I am always trying out new recipes. Please feel free to leave me your comments, I welcome any and all feedback. Stay tuned for more recipes, as time permits :)
Peace, love, and hugs to all!
