Sausage Laab and Fried Egg Bun

Originally from Laos, but also very popular in Northern Thailand, laab is a ‘salad’ of finely chopped or minced meat or fish cooked with an aromatic collection of ingredients such as lemongrass, galangal, lime, fish sauce, chilli and spices that give it an addictively bright and punchy flavour profile.

In this clever recipe from Good Eggs, Ed Smith uses the meat from pork sausages to make a quick and tasty laab which is served with a fried egg in a toasted brioche bun.

Find out more in our full review of Good Eggs by Ed Smith.

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Sausage Laab and Fried Egg Bun

Laab is a ‘salad’ made from minced or finely chopped meat or fish. Styles vary, but typically the protein (cooked or raw), is seasoned with aromatics such as lemongrass, galangal, lime, fish sauce, chilli and fresh herbs, and topped with toasted rice powder. It’s the national dish of Laos, prominent in northern Thailand too, and personally, if I see one on a menu, I can’t resist it. Also, while not in any way traditional, it makes total sense (to me, at least) to turn the meat inside sausages into a laab, put that in a soft bun, and add a crisp fried egg for good measure.

Servings 2 people

Author Ed Smith

Ingredients

• 200-220 g (7-7¾ oz) plain pork sausages
• Neutral cooking oil, for frying
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 20 g (¾ oz) ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 stick of lemongrass, finely sliced
• 2 makrut lime leaves, finely sliced
• 3 bird’s eye chilliesm finely sliced
• 1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
• ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ tsp Chinese five spice
• Juice of ½ lime
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• A handful of Thai basil leaves (or fresh mint)
• 2 eggs
• 2 soft brioche burger buns, halved and lightly toasted
• Pinch toasted rice powder

Notes

Also Consider:
• Using minced beef (a burger mix works well) or chopped chicken livers, instead of the sausage meat.
• Eating the laab and fried egg with rice or flatbreads, instead of the burger bun.

Instructions

• Score the sausages with the tip of a sharp knife. Remove the meat and discard the skins, then ball the meat into a flat patty.
• Heat the oil in a wok set over a high heat. Add the sausagemeat and squash it down using the back of a spatula. Let this fry for around 45 seconds, so that it begins to colour. Then start to break up the patty, again using a spatula to squash and chop away at it. Keep going until the meat is in a fine, minced meat- like consistency.
• Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves and three quarters of the fresh chilli. Cook the aromatics for 45–60 seconds, continually stirring and shaking wok. Then add the sugar and spices and cook for another 45–60 seconds, stirring frequently and adding a tablespoon of water if the meat is sticking.
• Squeeze in the lime juice, add the fish sauce and Thai basil, then immediately remove from the heat. Stir and set aside, allowing the basil to wilt a little while you fry two eggs in neutral oil and toast the buns.
• To assemble, spoon the fragrant pork over the base of each bun. Sprinkle generously with rice powder, then place an egg on top before closing the bun and tucking in.

The flavours in this recipe are so good, this is just the dish to make when you want to wake up your taste buds with truly punchy flavours. It’s also a dish you could enjoy for any meal of the day!

The laab is so punchy in flavour that we decided to divid ours across four buns instead of two (so we used four buns and four eggs instead of two and two), making the recipe go a little further, but if you want the full Good Eggs experience, split the laab between two buns as per Ed’s instructions.

We have many more egg recipes for you to explore.

Kavey Eats received a review copy of Good Eggs: Over 100 Cracking Ways to Cook and Elevate Eggs by Ed Smith from publishers Quadrille. Book photography by Sam A. Harris. Home cooked photos by Kavita Favelle.