Beef Larb with Baby Sweetcorn and Spinach

Larb – the traditional dish of Laos – is one of my all time favourite comfort foods. It also has to be one of the quickest and easiest dinners ever. There are as many versions of this dish as there are cooks, so feel free to experiment with your own ingredients.

I used sambal oelek in this recipe for laziness, but you can substitute with a chopped fresh chilli or even chilli flakes. You may wish to vary the amount of chilli used to suit your own taste as we like our food spicy. I used a combination of iceberg lettuce and watercress to serve, but any lettuce or salad leaves will do. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

250g extra lean minced beef

150g baby sweetcorn

100g spinach

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp sweetener

2 tbsp sambal oelek

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

shredded lettuce to serve

Sauté the beef with the baby sweetcorn until cooked through. Add the soy sauce, sweetener, vinegar and sambal oelek. Stir well to mix, then add the spinach. Simmer gently until the spinach has wilted. Serve over shredded lettuce. 

 

Beef Laap with Mint

I fell in love with Laap (also spelled larp or larb) in Laos earlier this year, where it is the national dish. There are as many variations of this as there is of as a beef stew in the west, and this is one of many. Laap has now become a firm favourite in this household, it's such a quick, easy, cheap, healthy and tasty dish to make. 

Serves 2

Syn free on Extra Easy

250g extra lean minced beef

1 onion

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp sweetener

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 cup chopped fresh mint

2 little gem lettuces

Sauté the beef and onion in Fry Light until the onion is soft and the meat browned. Add the soy sauce, sweetener, chilli, vinegar and mint and stir until heated through and well mixed. Serve over shredded lettuce. 

 

Turkey Laap

Also spelt lapr ot larb, the national dish of Laos has as many variations of the recipe as there are of stews in the UK. Every chef has their favourite, and this is mine. I really like the combination of sweet, sour, hot and salty, and love the fresh taste of the crunchy lettuce. You can of course use lettuce of your choice, but a crunchy one is best. Laap can be made with turkey, beef, pork chicken or even fish, but for this one I have chosen to use turkey. Be careful when you chose turkey mince though, as it isn't always easy to spot the difference between breast and leg mince, the latter being much higher in fat content. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

400g lean turkey mince

2 onions

2 romaine lettuce hearts

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp sweetener

1 red chilli, chopped

chopped coriander

Shred the lettuce hearts and place on two plates

Spray a frying pan with Fry Light.

Finely dice the onions.

Sauté the onions with the turkey mince, breaking the meat up as you go along. 

 

Fry for a few minutes until the meat is slightly browned and the onion soft.

Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sweetener and chilli. Stir well to combine.

Add the chopped coriander and serve on top of the lettuce.

Enjoy!