Spicy fish salad (Lahp Bpaa Pak Gap)

Ingredients
•  2 C fresh fish, with some skin
•  10 shallots 
•  6 apple eggplants 
•  1 bulb garlic 
•  ¼ C Vietnamese mint, rinsed
•  ¼ C spring onion greens, rinsed
•  ¼ C coriander leaves, rinsed 
•  2 – 3 extra shallots, peeled and chopped (2 tablespoons)
•  4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (2 tablespoons, plus 1 tablespoon used later) 2 T oil 
•  3 T padek (or 2 tablespoons fish sauce) 
•  1½ – 2 C water 
•  2 small red chillies, chopped
•  3 T ground, roasted rice powder
•  1 – 2 T fish sauce 
•  Accompaniments (pak gap) and to finish
•  1 cucumber, sliced; peel only if the skin is tough and bitter Use small amounts of  at least three. dill, whole chillies, lettuce or cabbage, mint, coriander, sawtooth herb or any other bitter herb 
•  3 red chillies 
Serves three to eight depending on the number of accompanying dishes. 

Method
1.  Remove the skin from the fish, cut into 5 cm (2 in) pieces and set aside for later use. Finely mince the fish with a Chinese chopper or heavy knife to an airy paste. This will take about 10 minutes – the time it takes to fully aerate the fish by repeatedly turning the fish mixture onto itself and mincing to a paste. Cover and set aside.
2.  Thread the shallots onto 2 toothpicks. Trim the eggplants and halve them. Do not use any with brown seeds. They are old and bitter.
3.  Roast the shallots, eggplants and garlic in a charcoal fire (for alternative cooking methods, see page 68). Turn occasionally. Remove each item to cool when the skins are completely blackened and the insides are soft.
4.  While the other ingredients are roasting, in a wok add 2 tablespoons oil, heat and then add the chopped raw garlic and shallots. Fry until translucent. Add the padek (or fish sauce) and water. Simmer a minute while stirring and add the fish skin. Add ½ teaspoon salt; simmer for 4 minutes. Use a wok spoon to break the fish skin into smaller pieces. Set aside to cool.
5.  Put the unpeeled, blackened eggplant in a mediumsize mortar. Peel any loose skin off the shallots and garlic, and then also add them to the mortar. Pound to a black mush. (It should be black at this stage!)
6.  Add the minced fish to the mortar and pound to mix. Add 5 tablespoons of the cooked fish juice, 1 tablespoon chopped raw garlic and the chopped chillies. Stir together. Sprinkle the ground, roasted rice powder over the mixture; add 4 tablespoons more fish juice. Adjust the amount of liquid and rice powder if necessary to get a thick, pancake batter consistency. Taste and add more fish sauce if needed (1 – 2 tablespoons). Mix well.
7.  Heat a dry wok, transfer the fish paste from the mortar and stir fry to remove excess moisture and cook the fish. Spread and flatten the mixture over the wok to hasten the process. Turn the heat off. Add the chopped Vietnamese mint, spring onion greens and coriander leaves and mix together.
8.  Transfer to a plate and garnish with sliced cucumber and chillies. Serve with sticky rice and the accompanying raw vegetables and herbs arranged on a separate plate. For method photographs, see page 155.

Information by Food from Northern Laos (The Boat Landing Cookbook)

Video Recipe by Buavone Thipphavanh