Nam Pic (Sauce):
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup fish sauce
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 Thai chili’s, deseeded and chopped
1-2 tsp brown sugar
Larp:
1 lb ground pork (or ground beef or ground chicken)
3-4 tbsp Jasmine rice grains
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp fish sauce
3-4 tbsp fresh mint, chopped (or 2 tsp dried mint)
3-4 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Cooked Jasmine rice
Lettuce leafs and/or napa cabbage leaves
To make the nam pic:
Add all the nam pic ingredients in a jar, stir well and let sit. This can be made well ahead of time and once made will store in your cupboard for a month (the longer it sits the more potent it becomes). If you find this is a dish that you really like and make often (like we do), I recommend making up a double or triple batch to save time the next time you make the dish.
To make the toasted rice:
In a dry wok or frying pan, add the rice grains over med-low heat. Let them toast until the grains have a nice golden color (will probably take about 10-15 minutes). Stir around to prevent from burning. A cool trick is to use an air popper popcorn maker if you have one. Add the rice grains, turn on and let toast until golden (probably about 5 minutes). I find this route shorter and you have to babysit the rice less. The rice doesn't burn quite so easily. Once toasted, remove from the heat and let cool. Place the toasted rice in a food processor, spice grinder, coffee grinder or mortar and pestle until they turn to a bit of a powder. My food processor only chops them to this consistency but we like them a bit chunkier and crunchy. This too you can make extra of, and store in a plastic container in the cupboard so prep is quicker the next time.
In a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat, brown the ground meat until cooked through and crumbly. Once browned add the lime juice, fish sauce and about ½ of the toasted rice grains. Let sauté for about 4-5 minutes. Adding some of the toasted rice now, they will soak up the juices in the meat. When almost ready to serve, stir in the chopped mint and cilantro and top with the rest of the toasted rice. This adds a nice nutty crunch to the top.
Serve ground meat mixture with jasmine rice, nam pic and lettuce and/or cabbage leaves.
I like to put a scoop of rice of on my plate, with a big scoop of the meat mixture on top. I then spoon some of the nam pic over my meat, but this part is totally optional. The meat is already seasoned, but the nam pic just really blows the flavor out of the water and adds a good bit of spicy kick from the chili peppers. When adding nam pic to your food, just take the juice mixture and avoid the bits of garlic and chili. They are seriously potent! I then mix that together and scoop that into either a lettuce leaf or cabbage leaf and roll up like a burrito. Some people eat only the meat mixture in the lettuce/cabbage leaves and eat the rice separately, or eat the rice/meat mixture and skip the lettuce...it's all up to you. I like to the napa cabbage a bit better as a wrap, because it holds together better, is crunchier and has more flavor. But any way you serve this dish up, it's a winner.
