Shrimp Salad (Laotian Larb)

Larb is a type of Lao minced meat salad and is widely considered to be the national dish of Laos. It is normally made with beef, pork, chicken or seafood. The shrimp makes this dish super light and refreshing and just packed with flavour. It's a healthy meal without having to sacrifice flavour.

One of the beauties of this recipe is how easy it is to switch up by adding other proteins. Not feeling like shrimp tonight, just sub in an equal amount of ground beef, pork or chicken (or some combination) and keep the rest of the recipe just as it is. You can also easily modify the dish to suit individual tastes at your table. Not a big fan of heat, take it easy on the chilies, don't want to pucker too much in front of the guests, ease off the lime and fish sauce.

2/3 lb green beans, topped and tailed
8 oz green cabbage (about ½ a head), cored and thinly sliced or shredded
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. coriander seeds
3 Tbsp. Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
6 Tbsp. lime juice, freshly squeezed, divided
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Canola oil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1¼ lbs shrimp, cut into bite sized pieces or ground meat of your choice
sea salt
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup salted cashews or peanuts, finely chopped
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
6 sprigs mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1-2 serrano or jalapeno chilies, thinly sliced
extra-virgin olive oil

Garnish:
serrano or jalapeno chilies, thinly sliced
crushed coriander seeds
whole basil leaves

Prepare a large bowl of ice water on your counter. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the green beans and cook for 1-2 minutes. Pull the beans from the pot and plunge them into the ice bath, leaving them there until fully chilled. Drain and pat them dry, then slice them thinly on a bias.

Toss the beans into a large bowl with the shredded cabbage and about ½ of the cilantro. Reserve.

Place the coriander seeds into a small skillet set over medium heat and cook until fragrant, 4-5 minutes. Crush them with a mortar and pestle and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, sesame oil, 4 Tbsp. of lime juice, the garlic and sugar.

In a large skillet, heat the Canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onion and cook until slightly caramelized. Add the shrimp and a pinch of salt and cook until just cooked through, about 2 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat then add the rest of the cilantro, the chopped basil, the fish sauce mix, the nuts, cayenne, mint and sliced chilies. Stir to combine and adjust seasoning as necessary.

To the cabbage add the remaining lime juice, a small glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Toss to combine.

Divide the cabbage and bean salad among your plates, top with the shrimp mix and garnish with extra chili slices, crushed coriander seeds and basil leaves as desired.

Makes 4-6 servings.