Shiitake & Tofu Laab

Laab is originally a Laotian meat salad - variants are eaten in Northern Thailand, amongst the Hmong people, and across some other east Asian countries. It’s usually seasoned with fish sauce, lime juice, roasted ground rice and fresh herbs.

I’ve tried lamb laab which I love, but obviously, since I don’t eat much meat, I wanted to make a plant-based one. I kept the basis of seasoning, so it isn’t vegan or vegetarian since fish sauce is used, but it’s one of the most important ingredients to season the dish, and a vegan alternative is incredibly hard to find. I omitted the ground rice as it’s something thats hard to find, and takes some extra time to make, but everything else; lime juice and fresh herbs are present.

This laab has no meat, but the fried tofu and shiitake do a great job to substitute the ingredient. Texture wise, it resembles minced meat, but obviously doesn’t taste like it. I find this to be a perfect summer meal, whether you want to eat it with rice or with cabbage or salad leaves as a wrap, it’s full of punchy flavours.

serves: 1-2 people

prep/cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients

150g firm tofu

150g shiitake, minced

1 red chilli, minced

1 lemongrass stalk, minced

4 kaffir lime leaves, minced

2-3 big cloves of garlic, sliced thin

2 big spring onions, sliced thin, separated into greens and whites

1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, toasted and chopped into chunks

2 tbsp lime juice + 2 lime wedges

2 tbsp fish sauce

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, sliced thin

cabbage leaves or jasmine rice, to eat with

neutral oil, salt

Method

1. Wrap the tofu in paper towels or a clean tea towel, place a heavy weight on top to draw out any excess moisture. Let it drain for 15-20 minutes. After draining, using a fork, shred the tofu into crumbs.

2. In a pan on medium high heat, add 3 tbsp of neutral oil and the crumbled tofu, fry the crumbs until they turn crispy and golden. Add the shiitake, white part of the spring onion and garlic to the mix, cook until the water content evaporates from the mushrooms, they start caramelising and the garlic and onions soften.

3. Take the pan off heat, and add the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, chilli, peanuts, toss everything together and leave the laab to cool.

4. When the laab has cooled, toss the mint leaves into the mix and season with fish sauce, and lime juice. If you need any salt, season. Serve the laab at room temp, with cabbage leaves or some fresh hot jasmine rice and lime wedges.