Cook the 2 cups of rice like you normally would cook it (aka for me, I pop it in the rice cooker). Set it and forget it!
Heat up a nonstick pan with the neutral cooking oil. Wait until you can hear it sizzle, and toss in the sweet onion, ginger, shallot and lemongrass. Saute until the onions are translucent and it's very fragrant.
Add the ground meat to the pan, breaking it up into smaller pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the minced garlic and the dashes of fish sauce. Be careful because the fish sauce is super salty. Add the thai bird chili (adjust amount based on how much spice you can handle)
Once everything in the pan is cooked through, divide the amount onto four plates.
Prep your garnishes and veggies. Thinly slice cucumbers, tear up fresh herbs, slice up your scallions, and start to plate your meat with your veggies.
Toast the coconut in a clean nonstick pan on medium heat. Watch the pan carefully and constantly move around the pan. The sweetness of the coconut easily burns... Take it off the heat when the coconut starts to look toasted and golden.
When your rice is done cooking, fluff up the rice with a fork and add the coconut oil.
Serve the rice alongside the laarb and veggies. Spoon a generous serving of the fish sauce vinaigrette on top of the laarb. With this dish, I add extra shallot to the fish sauce vinaigrette. Garnish the rice with the toasted coconut, and serve it up!
4 servings