Big Fat Meanie, or others...

[BigFatMeanie]

Originally Posted by marsupial

As I was fortunate enough to be one of Farrah's guinea pigs, I can tell you that everything was fabulous!

You really should try the laab. It is as good, if not better than the Nam Tok.

[BigFatMeanie]

Originally Posted by FarrahWaters

BFM, I made the Nam Tok (waterfall beef) you posted, and I really liked the mint and lime flavors in it. But, I think the marinade might have dried the meat out a little, there was no oil in it.

I didn't have trouble finding any of the ingredients except for the kaffir lime leaves for the coconut soup. If Jeff Lebowski is still interested, I can post the recipe I used.

I didn't put peppers in anything, because there were kids and an adult there who didn't like spicy foods.. but I made a hot sauce to put over the pad thai and the soup to make it spicy. I heated up a can of coconut milk, added a couple Tbsp of red curry paste, blended up 10 thai chilies with a little water, and added that to the coconut milk with 1 Tbsp of fish sauce.

So thanks! I'll keep experimenting.

Mrs. Meanie made Nam Tok tonight and it was some of the best she's ever made. I asked her to experiment and find a way to make it more tender. Here is what she came up with:

- Get flank steak (or maybe tenderloin) instead of top sirloin. The flank steak is more marbled and thus will be more tender
- Grill/sear the flank steak before marinating. 4-5 minutes on each side to a medium doneness (the steak should be a light pink in the middle)
- Let the steak sit 10-15 minutes after grilling. If you cut the steak immediately you will lose juice
- Cut the steak and then marinate.

This was about the most tender Nam Tok I've ever had - not tough at all. I would be interested to see if you have success with this technique as well.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by BigFatMeanie

You really should try the laab. It is as good, if not better than the Nam Tok.

I'm relieved that you spelled that with one "a".

[FarrahWaters]

I forgot to mention before, BFM-- I have made the Laab a couple times now, and I really like it. It is a really easy, quick meal to make that has a lot of flavor. Thanks for sharing.