Thai Beef Salad

(Larb Nua)

This is intended to be rather spicy; so know your speed and build up from there (I remember a party at a restaurant where everyone thought this was a bit spicy, so a friend and I ate their portions, too; it solidified my love of the dish).

This can easily be made with ground chicken (larb gai), for a lighter fare, but try ground, or thinly sliced sirloin for a traditional version. Just make sure to use a very lean meat, remember, it is a salad.

1 # ground lean beef, or chicken

1/4 c fresh lime juice (for chicken use 3 T)

1/2 sm. red onion, thinly sliced

2 T fish sauce

1 t sugar

1 t oil, peanut or vegetable

2 scallions, thinly sliced

2 T cilantro leaves, chopped

5 fresh jalapenos, seeded, deveined,

and thinly sliced (or 1/2 t cayenne powder)

2 T roasted rice powder, or substitute crushed

Grape Nuts (optional)

15-20 fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped

lettuce leaves

Combine ground beef with, lime juice, red onion, fish sauce, and sugar.

Heat a wok on high, add the beef mixture, and cook until beef changes color, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and put in a mixing bowl. Add scallions, cilantro, jalapenos, rice powder, and mint; stir well.

Cool, and serve on a plate of lettuce leaves.