Ingredients
10 Ounces Ground beef
¼ Cup of Cilantro
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
¼ Cu of Green onions
¼ of a Thai chili pepper
1-3 mint leafs
Some Rice
Optional lettuce chunks
Looking at all the ingredients spread across the kitchen counter as I feel that my mom is preparing a huge feast for my sister going away to college in Boston. Everyone gathers around in the kitchen talking and sharing memories that they had with her. I help my mom slice the green onions and help her gather all the ingredients that she needs to cook for each dish.
The first step that my mom takes when preparing the larb is cooking ground beef. The moment she places the meat on the pan it heats the whole kitchen because of the fierce sizzle that it makes. This usually reminds me of when all the times that my sister used to get mad at me for simple things. After my mom cooks the ground beef for a while she starts to add dashes of fish sauce, a squeeze of lime juice, a pinch of chili flakes, and peppers to add a good spice to the dish.
After the meat is done cooking my mom moves over to finish up all the vegetables. She slices and proceeds to cut the lettuce. My mom then gathers all the vegetables all together in an earthy mix and mixes it with ground beef. The mix between the steamy meat and the cold vegetables makes for the perfect balance which ties between my entire family and the memories with my sister.
I helped set the kitchen table one last time with my sister by setting down all the forks, knives, spoons, and plates to dig into the main dish but I hurried back to the kitchen to help cook the rice. The moment I opened the rice cooker I was engulfed with the steam that came from the rice cooker, and at that exact moment my sister laughed at me I couldn't help but laugh with her. I knew this was going to be one of my last times before I saw her for a very long time so I had to enjoy every moment of it. So when we said our goodbyes that night I will never forget the memories I shared with her.