Goong Ten Laab – Dancing Shrimp
Preparation for Dancing Shrimp Laab
- Freshwater Shrimp – 1 cup small (live). I realize people will have problems with this. We haven’t had this for fifteen years because now that I think about it, I don’t like the idea either! The small shrimp can already be dead. Chill them in the refrigerator, then freeze, then dethaw, then cool.
- Garlic – 5 cloves (sliced).
- Lemongrass Stalks – 2 (sliced thinly).
- Peppermint – 1/2 cup.
- Scallion – 2 tablespoons (sliced).
- Coriander – 1 tablespoon (sliced).
- Red Onion – 2 tablespoons (sliced).
- Roasted Uncooked Rice – 2 tablespoons.
- Dried Pepper Powder – 2 teaspoons.
- Lemon Juice – 3 tablespoons.
- Fish Sauce – 2 tablespoons.
Goong Ten Cooking Instructions
1. Clean freshwater shrimp very well.
2. Mix dried pepper powder, garlic, lemon juice, lemongrass, fish sauce, and roasted uncooked rice together.
3. Add scallion, coriander, peppermint, and red onion in the mixed sauce.
4. Now, put sauce and freshwater shrimp in a big bowl. Put a plate over top and shake it to make it mix well.
5. Lemon juice can be added more if you like sour food.
I know it is too sad to eat this Thai-Isaan food. When I was young I used to go out to the rice field with my mom. Our friends went out the river to fish and these small freshwater shrimps came into their net. They gave some to us. As we have Thai-Isaan blood, we cook it this way and also we can put freshwater shrimp with egg to make an omelet.
We eat almost everything! haha 🙂 One time a woman from Canada asked me “Do you eat butterflies?”
Hmm… I’m not that hungry I think.
Note from Vern
The shrimp are baby shrimp. They are alive. They jump out of the hot spicy sauce when you remove the plate on top. It’s quite tasty if you can get over the barbaric aspect of it. I did, maybe too quickly! That said, like Joy related, we haven’t had this in more than 15 years. We don’t really want to introduce our daughters to the concept!
