MUSHROOM LAAB

Mushroom Laab

I love laab, it’s such a punchy dish. Lot of fresh herbs, fragrants, a balance of sweet, salty and citrus is the perfect combination making it a moreish and vibrant dish. We served this as a starter at our latest supper club with mushrooms which is what I’ve done here, but it works well with plenty of other veg and proteins, try it with aubergine or tempe. Laab is a Lao dish, but popular Southeast Asia. I’ve had many over the years but I tried one in a Thai restaurant in Melbourne and they left the mushrooms quite big like I’ve done here which I also really enjoyed so I’ve done the same.

For the fish sauce, I found Thai taste ‘vegan fish sauce’ makes a great substitute for fish sauce. A couple of pointers, prep everything before you start cooking the mushrooms, this dish comes together quickly! Don’t be tempted to keep moving the mushrooms around while they’re in the pan. It’ll slow down them taking on colour and they’ll also release more water making this a wetter dish than you want. 

Serve 2 generously as a starter or with rice or noodles as a main course.

 Dressing

 15g sugar – I used rapadura, but coconut or palm will also work well

40g lime juice – about 1 lime

35g fish sauce (I use

15g lemongrass sliced/ 3 pieces

20g shallot/ 1 medium round

3 birds eye chilli, finely sliced – amount depends on how much heat you like

4 kaffir lime, destemmed and finely sliced

15g picked mint, torn

15g roughly chopped coriander

300g oyster mushroom

25ml rapeseed oil

First, prep your ingredients and put rice on to cook if you’re serving with it.

 Mix the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, until the sugar dissolves.

Finley sliced the lemongrass, to do so cut off the woody ends, about halfway up the stalk, and remove the outer layers. Remove the stem from the kaffir lime leaves and finely slice. Peel and finely slice the shallot, and add to the mixing bowl along with the dressing.

Pick the mint and chop the coriander, set aside.

Cut the mushrooms lengthways so they’re all the roughly same size. I usually cut larger ones into 3 then leave the little ones whole.

Heat a large frying pan, once hot add the oil and mushrooms. They should be in a single layer, so you may need to do this in two batches.

Cook for about 3 minutes, turn and cook for a further minutes, remove from the pan and transfer the mushrooms to the mixing bowl with the dressing. Cook the second batch, then place in the bowl with the dressing and mix well, add the fresh herbs and serve.

I like to sprinkle it with some furikake, not traditional but I love it as a seasoning. It’s great wrapped with some fresh lettuce leaves or served with rice or noodles as a main course.

Furikake 

2 sheet nori 

100g sesame seeds, toasted - I used a mix of black and white  

5g/1 tsp himalayan pink or sea salt 

Using tongs, hold the nori a few inches away from an open flame, wave the sheets over the flame on both sides to toast. Be careful not to let it burn. Blitz in a food processor with the toasted sesame and salt until you have a rough crumb. 

Transfer to a jar and store until finished!