recipe near bottom of the article -
Los Angeles River Backyard Carp Larb
1 hour. Serves 6 to 8.
Ingredients
- 2 medium Los Angeles River carp fillets, roughly 2½ to 3 pounds
- ¼ cup finely minced fresh galangal
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons chile powder
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced lemongrass
- ½ of a red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro, with stems
- 12 mint leaves, torn
- ½ cup thinly sliced green onions
- ½ cup chopped sawtooth (culantro)
- 2 tablespoons nam pla ra (Thai fermented fish liquid)
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1½ tablespoons toasted rice powder (buy the Night + Market cookbook to learn how to make this manna from heaven)
- Green cabbage wedges, sliced cucumber and Thai sticky rice, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat a grill to medium high heat. If you can get them, we suggest using Pok Pok brand Thaan Thai charcoal logs, which are similar to Japanese binchotan.
- Wrap the carp fillets in the banana leaves, securing each packet with kitchen twine. Grill, flipping now and then, until cooked through. Thirty minutes should do it.
- Remove the fish from the grill and unwrap it. When it’s cool enough to handle, use a fork and your hands to separate the bones from the flesh. These fish are bony. Be thorough.
- Once you have about 2 cups of meat, place it in the center of a large cutting board and cover it with the minced galangal. Use a cleaver to chop this pile into a rough paste. This will take a couple of minutes.
- Move the mixture to a large bowl, stir in the sugar and fish sauce and mix. Next, add the seasonings in this order and with a quick toss after each addition: chile powder, lemongrass, red onion, cilantro, mint, green onions, sawtooth, nam pla ra, lime juice and toasted rice powder. Serve with a wedge of green cabbage, sliced cucumber and sticky rice. Have about five bites, then leave the bowl curbside for the coyotes.