Confetti Laab Larb Larp Lahb Gai ลาบไก่ Party Patties

I assume by now all of my readers know how to make Laab, Larp, Lahb, Lahp, Laap, Larb (ลาบ ) blindfolded. If not, won't you take a minute to visit my old post on how to make Laab in the archive and find out how ridiculously easy it is to make this Northeastern Thai meat salad as well as why I am irritating you with so many spellings of Laab? Yes, please go. I'll wait for you here.

Well, since the clues are all here, I bet you can see it now. What are these little things if not all the ingredients of Laab, in the raw state, mixed up sausage-style, formed into patties, and seared in a moderately-hot skillet for that sought-after smokiness? As easy as it is to make the traditional Laab, this appetizer version is even more of a no-brainer. If you know what good Laab is supposed to taste like, you can't ruin this dish.

If your party guests are anything like mine, then serve these bite-sized confetti Laab patties at your New Year's party and watch them swoon.


All you need to do is follow the basic Laab procedure with a few exceptions:

• The meat is not to be cooked before it gets mixed with the other ingredients.
  
• Use fresh chillis instead of dried. I use red jalapeño peppers, seeded, cut into long and thin strips. Then I line up the strips and cut them crosswise into tiny little red confetti. Once the seeds are removed, the fresh peppers are rendered impotent. That is to say, these patties aren't anywhere as spicy as the traditional Laab made with dried red pepper flakes. If you want your Laab patties spicy, instead of using dried red pepper flakes, I would leave the fresh pepper seeds in, as much or little as your heat tolerance allows.
  
• Instead of fresh shallots, I use the green parts of green onions, cut into tiny pieces as I do the red pepper, to add the green color to the confetti. All the other herbs, i.e. cilantro, mint, are cut up into tiny pieces as well.
  
• For every pound of meat (pork, chicken, turkey, and beef are all great*), I add two large egg whites to the mixture for extra binding power in addition to the toasted rice powder.
  

The question you may have at this point is: How do I season my raw Laab sausage to taste?

That's easy to do, although it involves a piece or two of your Laab sausage mixture committing martyrdom for the sake of the remainder. First, just follow the basic guidelines laid out in the Laab post. Then take a teaspoon or two of the mixture and form a small patty. Microwave that little Laab specimen for a few seconds, depending on your microwave wattage, until it's cooked through. Taste. If seasoning needs adjustment, then do so as needed.

Once the sausage mixture is seasoned to taste, form it into small one-inch balls and flatten them slightly. Smooth out the edges as you go. Moistening your hands makes the job much easier. Before serving, brown them in a skillet, set over medium heat, until the outsides are browned and the insides are cooked through. Serve warm. No dipping sauce is necessary. All the flavors are already in there.

If the basic procedure is followed, 2 pounds of ground meat yields 48 1-inch Laab party patties.

Tips: This bulk sausage can be made in advance. It freezes and thaws beautifully. If refrigerated, the meat mixture should be stored in a glass container or plastic bag up to 3 days. The only thing to keep in mind is that you should add the vegetables and herbs right before you're ready to cook the patties. This is to ensure freshness and bright colors. As far as the meat, binders, and seasonings, they can sit in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. In fact, this allows the meat-rice mixture to age and "sour" which yields even better results, in my opinion.

*If you use anything else other than chicken, you can't call these Laab Gai (ลาบไก่ )patties as "gai" means "chicken." Just call it Laab patties and let people guess what's in them.