Thai Beef and Lettuce Boats Platter

The inspiration for this dish came from a recipe Gordon Ramsay made on his television series ‘Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course.’ We saw him make it on the television and fancied trying it for tea the following day. Unfortunately, we did not write down the recipe for what I am calling ‘Thai Beef and Lettuce Boats,’ so a lot of it was guesswork. I have since looked up what this dish is called, and it is Larb Gai.

In his version, Gordon Ramsay used fish sauce. Fish sauce is an ingredient that I am not overly keen on, so I replaced it with soy sauce, which is an ingredient I like and always have in the kitchen cupboard. Feel free to switch back the ingredients if you are a fish sauce fan.

I had a vague idea of the rest of the ingredients he had put into the recipe, just not how much. However, I always adapt a recipe to suit my tastes, so I was happy to experiment with quantities and make the dish to suit my tastes. My family loved the dish and enjoyed eating from the platter, so I also made a chargrilled chicken and chorizo platter around the same time.

Creating a Thai Beef and Lettuce Boats (Larb Gai) Platter

To go with the Thai beef and lettuce boats, Gordon Ramsay made a dipping sauce. Again, he used fish sauce in this, which I replaced with soy sauce. Gordon made his version as a light-bites type meal for sharing.

As I was making it for a family tea, I added some substance to the meal by also making a sweet chilli slaw and salad to serve with the Thai beef and lettuce boats (Larb Gai) with dipping sauce. I also served raita to add a cooler flavour, and tortilla wraps so the children had the option to build wraps from the dishes on the table.

Although the ingredients list seems long as there are several components, you will use several of the ingredients in multiple parts of the recipe. Therefore, there are fewer ingredients than you think.

Similarly, the recipe instructions may seem long, but you should not let this deter you. It is a surprisingly quick and simple dish to make, and the instructions are only long to describe making the different elements. You will make some components while other components are cooking.

All the components together look fantastic served as a platter in the middle of the dining table for everyone to share.

Here is how to make Thai beef and lettuce boats (Larb Gai) with a dipping sauce and sweet chilli slaw.

Preparation time:	15 minutes
Cooking time:	20 minutes
Servings:	6
Vegetarian/ vegan:	NO
Dairy-free:	YES
Gluten-free:	YES

Ingredients for Thai Beef and Lettuce Boats (Larb Gai)

• 300g beef mince
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 6 spring onions thinly sliced
• 2 gem lettuces
• 1 chilli, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1-inch fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
• 3 tbsp. dark soy sauce
• Zest and juice of half a lime
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

The Dipping Sauce Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 chilli, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. light brown sugar
• Juice and zest of ½ lime

Ingredients for Sweet Chilli Slaw

• 1/4 white cabbage, grated
• 3 medium carrots, grated
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 heaped tbsp. mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp. sweet chilli sauce
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• Black pepper

Alternatively, try our funky red cabbage slaw.

Ingredients for the Raita

• 4 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1 tbsp mint sauce or fresh mint finely chopped
• 1-inch chunk of cucumber, finely diced

How to Make the Dipping Sauce for Thai Beef and Lettuce Boats

1. Make the dipping sauce first so that the flavours of chilli can infuse.
2. Put the soy sauce and olive oil into a small bowl and stir together.
3. Finely slice a red chilli and add to the bowl, including the seeds.
4. Next, add the sugar and stir through again.
5. Zest one lime, then put half the zest in the dipping sauce. Retain the rest of the lime zest for the beef.
6. Cut the lime in half horizontally and squeeze the juice of one half into the dipping sauce. Retain the other half of the lime for the beef.
7. Leave the dipping sauce to develop the flavours at room temperature while you are making the rest of the dish.

How to Make Thai Beef and Lettuce Boats

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat.
2. Add the minced beef to the pan with some salt and black pepper.
3. Break up the meat using a fork to prevent lumps of meat forming.
4. Cook for two minutes over high heat, then turn down the hob to medium heat.
5. You will need to cook the beef longer than you would when making other dishes where the meat is cooked in the sauce as you want it to turn slightly crispy.
6. While the beef is cooking, halve the tomatoes, thinly slice the spring onions, crush your garlic, chop the chilli, and grate the ginger.
7. Retain some of the sliced spring onions to sprinkle over the Thai Beef and lettuce boats.
8. When the beef is well browned, tip it onto a plate and then return the pan to the hob.
9. Next, add a little extra oil to the pan, then add the spring onions, tomatoes, garlic, chilli, and ginger.
10. Cook for five minutes, then return the meat to the pan.
11. Add the soy sauce and the juice and zest of half a lime, then stir through.

Making the Sweet Chilli Slaw

1. You should also prepare the sweet chilli slaw while the Thai beef is cooking.
2. Grate the cabbage and carrot into a large mixing bowl.
3. Thinly slice the red onion, then add to the carrot and cabbage.
4. Add the mayonnaise, chopped chilli, and sweet chilli sauce to the bowl.
5. Mix all the ingredients together, then season with black pepper.
6. Spoon the sweet chilli sauce into a serving dish.

How to Serve the Thai Beef and Lettuce Boats with Accompaniments

• If you wish to serve this on a platter as shown, you should put out your pots of dipping sauce, sweet chilli slaw, and raita onto a chopping board.
• Arrange approximately 12 of the outer leaves of the gem lettuce into a fan onto the chopping board around the pots.
• Spoon one or two spoons of the Thai beef mixture into the lettuce leaves.
• Next, sprinkle the retained spring onion slices over the Thai beef and lettuce boats.
• Chop the inner part of the gem lettuces and add any other salad ingredients you wish.
• Put any remaining Thai beef mixture into a bowl.
• Serve the chopping board, the bowl of Thai mince, and a plate of warmed tortilla wraps onto the table for everyone to help themselves.

Additional Tips

• Try making the Thai beef and lettuce boats (Larb Gai) with minced pork or lamb.
• Swap the soy sauce for fish sauce if you prefer.
• If you enjoy Thai flavours, try our Thai vegetable red curry.

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