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Beef Laap

A spicy Lao beef salad with toasted rice, lime, fish sauce, and fresh herbs.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and coriander are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,474 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Beef Laap

Timeabout 2 minutes per side

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the seasonings

  1. Make toasted rice by browning raw rice in a hot dry wok or frying pan, then grind coarsely in a blender; alternatively, brown a commercial "cream of rice" in a hot dry pan/wok.

  2. Wrap the shallot and garlic in aluminum foil and roast on the stove for about 2 minutes per side until scorched. Remove, mash together well (with mortar & pestle, if available), and set aside.

  3. Adjust the amount of ground hot chili pepper to taste. Serve extra on the side to be added to the dish as needed.

Make the laab

  1. Lightly cook the ground beef in a dry pan/wok until the pink is just gone, then place in a bowl and let cool for a few minutes.

  2. Add fish sauce, salt, lime juice, and mix well.

  3. Add the mashed garlic/shallot, ground coriander seed, toasted rice, ground hot chili, chopped scallion, and lightly toss together with a fork.

Serve

  1. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves and garnish with mint leaves.

  2. Serve with fresh raw assorted vegetables such as chunks of "yard‑long bean", nappa leaves (select the more tender inner leaves), lettuce leaves (Romaine and other leaf lettuces are excellent), celery.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

628Calories
33 gProtein
30 gFat
57 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 14 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Peppermintnot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0
Seednot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + coriandertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Garlic + shallottop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,000 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Mint + coriandertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together940 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Clove + shallottop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,677 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ground beef
Provides the main body of the dish, cooked just until the pink is gone.
Toasted rice
Adds a nutty aroma and a crunchy, slightly grainy texture to the meat.
Lime juice
Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and firms the cooked meat slightly.
Fish sauce
Adds savoury, salty depth that rounds out the seasoning.
Garlic
Adds pungent aroma and sharpness; roasting mellows and sweetens it.
Shallot
Adds mild sweetness and aroma; roasting softens its bite.

The step that matters

Cook the ground beef just until the pink is gone. Overcooking dries out the meat and makes it tough, while undercooking leaves it unsafe. Cooking gently until just done keeps it moist and tender for the lime and fish sauce to season.

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, clove, garlic, shallot, coriander, pepper, rice):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Turmericfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, clove, garlic, shallot, coriander, pepper, rice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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