Here near Washington, D.C. we have an abundance of restaurants featuring international cooking.  I love Indian, Thai and Vietnamese recipes but what about Laotian?  We are lucky to have a few Laotian restaurants in our area and they are worth the trip!   So here is a Lao-style recipe inspired by one of our local restaurants. It relies on your ability to control the heat for the crisping of some cooked rice and ground meat.  I’ve tried turkey, pork & chicken in this dish and the chicken is the best. Ingredients: To chill: 1 red onion, medium, sliced thin 1 three inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut up into matchsticks Bowl of ice water For the dressing: 3 tablespoons lime juice 1 tablespoon fish sauce 1 tablespoon brown sugar For the skillet: 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided 1 pound ground chicken 2 cups cooked rice, cooled ½ of a four ounce can of red Thai curry paste, divided. (I use Maesri brand.) At the last minute: ½ - ¾ cup peanuts, coarsely chopped 12 ounces string beans, cut into ½ inch pieces and blanched in boiling water, then chilled (Optional) 1 cup, packed, cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped Optional: ½ cup coarsely chopped mint leaves, 2 ounces bean thread prepared to package directions Lettuce leaves for serving, wrapping Let’s get started… Chill the onion & ginger in the ice water while preparing all other ingredients. Whisk all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Heat half of the oil (2 tablespoons) in a large skillet on medium-high heat until shimmering.   It is important to get the heat just right, as we will be setting the meat, and later the rice, in the hot oil to crisp without burning. Spread the ground meat across the hot skillet.  Leave it undisturbed for 5 minutes so that it browns well.  Check for burning and adjust heat as needed.  After 5 minutes, see if the meat has browned and cook more/hotter if needed.  When browned, flip the meat and be sure to cook it through. While finishing the cooking, add half the Thai curry paste ( ¼ of the can, or 1 ounce) to the meat and combine, while breaking up the meat into bite sized pieces. Transfer the browned/cooked meat to the large bowl with the dressing and set aside. Now do the same with the rice… In a separate bowl, add the rest of the Thai curry paste (⅛ of the can, or 1 ounce) to the rice and combine well. Add the remaining half of the oil (2 tablespoons) to the same hot pan and let the oil shimmer. Press the cooked rice/curry paste flat in the hot oil/pan and cooked, without stirring, for 5 minutes.  This will get the rice nicely crisped.  Monitor for any burning.  Take a peak after 5 minutes and cook more/hotter if needed.  If crisped, flip and complete the cooking for a minute or two while breaking up the crisped rice into bite sized pieces. Add the cooked rice to the large bowl with the dressing & cooked meat. Drain the red onion & ginger, plus half of the peanut and cilantro and toss in the large bowl along with the string beans. Top with the remaining half of the peanut & cilantro for a good look! Serve with lettuce leaves for looks, and for using to wrap/dip by hand into the salad. Inspired by Thip Khao restaurant, Washington, D.C., via Bon Appetit magazine.