Ice`s recipes

Get ready to ditch the boring salad and dive headfirst into this flavor bomb! This recipe is your ticket to a vibrant, spicy, herbal Thai treat, perfect for two friends or one seriously hungry spice-lover. It’s light, it’s zesty, and it’s got that addictive crunch from the toasted rice!

🧑‍🍳 Ingredients: Your Flavor Arsenal

The Tuna Base (The Star!)

• Canned Tuna (The Quick Fix): 5 oz (about 1 standard can, drained weight). Go for tuna in water or oil, just make sure it’s super well-drained! We don't want soggy Laab.

• Toasted Rice Powder (Khao Khua): 1 Tablespoon. 🌟 MANDATORY MAGIC! 🌟 This gives Laab its authentic nutty crunch and aroma. Find it ready-made, or toast a spoonful of sticky rice yourself and grind it coarsely.

The Dressing and Aromatics (The Zing!)

• Fresh Lime Juice: 2 Tablespoons. Squeeze it fresh! Bottled lime juice is a flavor crime here.

• Fish Sauce: 1 Tablespoon. The salty, funky heart of Thai cuisine.

• Sugar (White or Palm): 1/2 Teaspoon. A tiny bit to balance the party! (Adjust to make the sour/salty/spicy harmony sing.)

• Chili Flakes (Prik Pon): 1/2 to 1 Teaspoon. Or 1-2 finely sliced Thai chilies if you like a real kick! Adjust heat to your bravery level!

• Shallots: 2 small Thai shallots or 1/4 cup small red onion, thinly sliced.

• Green Onion (Scallions): 1 stalk, thinly sliced.

The Herbs (The Freshness Crew!)

• Fresh Cilantro (Coriander): 1/4 cup, coarsely chopped.

• Sweet Basil (Thai Basil): 1/4 cup, leaves picked and roughly torn.

• Mint Leaves: 1/4 cup, leaves picked. (Optional, but seriously, don't skip the mint! It's the cool kid of the party.)

💃 Instructions: Let’s Make it Happen!

1. Tuna Prep & Flake Dance

• Drain that tuna like your life depends on it! Transfer it to a mixing bowl.

• Grab a fork and gently flake the tuna. We want nice little bite-sized chunks, not tuna mush!

2. Dressing Drama (The Whisking Starts Now!)

• In a small, separate bowl, whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar until the sugar melts away.

• Toss in those fiery chili flakes (or sliced chilies) and give it a stir.

3. Assembly Time!

• Drench the Tuna: Pour the entire dressing mixture over the flaked tuna.

• Aromatics In: Add the sliced shallots and green onion.

• Mix Gently: Use a spoon or rubber spatula to gently fold everything together. Don't overdo it—you want to coat the tuna, not turn it into paste!

4. The Grand Finale! (Texture is Queen)

• Sprinkle the Magic: Sprinkle in that precious toasted rice powder. Smell that amazing nutty scent? That’s authentic Laab! Mix gently one last time.

• The Herb Flood: Fold in the chopped cilantro, the torn basil, and the amazing mint leaves.

5. Taste Test & Tune-Up

Take a heroic spoonful! Your Laab should hit your palate with a symphony of flavors: Sour (Lime), Salty (Fish Sauce), and Spicy (Chili), with just a hint of sweetness.

• Need more ZING? Add more lime juice.

• Need more SAVORY PUNCH? Add more fish sauce.

• Too intense? Add a tiny bit more sugar to mellow things out!

🤩 Serving Suggestions

• The Thai-Mex Hybrid: Offer warm, soft flat bread like flour tortillas (burrito-style) for a fusion wrap experience! This makes the Laab easy to eat on the go.

• Classic Thai Wraps: Offer fresh lettuce leaves (like butter lettuce or romaine) for making individual wraps.

• Crunchy Sides: Lay out a platter of sliced cucumber, raw green beans, or cabbage wedges for scooping and crunching.

• Carb Crew: Serve with a side of sticky rice (khao niao) or plain jasmine rice to complete the feast!

Ice's Background: The Local Fixer

Ice was forged in the demanding world of international journalism. She was a local Thai fixer. This vital role meant assisting foreign journalists from overseas to navigate the complex and often dangerous political landscape of Thailand, helping them secure stories and connections for broadcast or publication to international audiences. This work was crucial but placed her at high risk.

Ultimately, Ice was forced to leave Thailand due to the profound political threat of imprisonment for exercising her freedom of expression. Her principled work for truth put her directly in harm’s way, compelling her to seek safety abroad in Denmark. Her final project before exile was assisting SVT (Swedish Television).

Despite the intensity of her professional life, Ice carried a deeply meaningful connection to her home country: her culinary skill. This gift was adopted from her foster mother, who successfully ran a popular Thai restaurant back in Thailand. This heritage of cooking, rooted in professional practice, became the one invaluable asset she could take with her.

The Turning Point: Five Years of Trust Broken

Ice built a new life in Denmark, which came to include what she termed an "awkward situationship" with a Danish man. Despite its label, she was committed for five years. That commitment was shattered by a devastating discovery: he was leading a double life. He had been sleeping with numerous women while calling her "my dear" and told her "we are seeing each other", all while concealing a relationship with someone 30 years younger than him. The betrayal left her heartbroken, obliterating five years of trust.

💔 The Night of the Verdict and the Cold Refusal

On October 2nd, 2025, her world collapsed. After discovering his double life with another woman, her long-term partner made his decision.

Following a conversation with his new sugar baby, he delivered a brutal verdict: he expelled her from his apartment.

In the cold and dark of the night, he forced her out, demanding the apartment key immediately, completely indifferent to where she would go. He made it clear she was banished, stating she could only return if he allowed it, and any future interaction must be restricted to public spaces. It felt as though he allowed his desires to completely control his actions, leading him to treat a loyal partner like a stray dog.

She was instantly cast out, experiencing the profound and terrifying heart of the homeless. The person she had considered her only family in Denmark had become a stranger overnight. With nowhere else to turn, she sought refuge in a hostel in Sydhaven, sharing a mixed dorm with six other women.

The Finality of the Response

Later that same week, on Friday, he attempted a hollow gesture. He told her she could go back to his apartment "once in a while" to continue the cooking she had faithfully done for him over the last five years.

But the loyal partner was gone. She delivered her own final verdict: she would not return to his apartment. The only conditions under which he would see her there again were if he was truly gravely ill, bedridden and incapable of caring for himself, or if he was dying, and his sugar-baby Danish girlfriend had walked out on him because once his career and network dissolved due to illness, she abandoned him, as he could offer no further connections for her advancement. Those alone, she stated, would be the reasons for her return to his apartment in the most amazing location of Copenhagen.

Blessings Over Betrayal: A Vow to Cook for the Deserving 

Her decision to leave was followed by a monumental, defiant act. She would not let the pain of his betrayal taint her passion or her heritage. While anger and disappointment tempted her to throw everything out and erase the past, she chose a different path.

She carefully packed and moved all her cooking equipment, ingredients, and every single spice and seasoning she had bought while with him. These were the tools of her craft, the source of the meals his whole family had praised and enjoyed. She saw a better idea than waste. She decided to channel all her negative feelings and sadness into a positive act: using her skills and supplies to provide a blessing for those who deserved more, giving them a fine dining Thai experience they would otherwise never have.

This part of cookbook is filled with the most-loved meals of her ex situationship partner, featuring recipes "the Laab Thai Salad—dishes", he constantly requested. They were his comfort, his favorites, but now they belong to a new, deserving audience. Having watched her cook countless times and having been taught the basics, he would have to make his own Laab Thai Salad from scratch if he ever craved them again. The hands that once served him faithfully now serve the community. 

She made a powerful vow: to embrace the turmoil and transform it into something beautiful. Refusing to let pain lead to waste, she consciously decided to channel her energy and supplies into a positive, tangible blessing, ensuring her skills would benefit those who truly deserved her care.

Read the reviews on the testimonials page

Ice's journey—from the dangerous world of political fixing to a sanctuary in the kitchen—is a profound testament to her resilience. She has found a meaningful way to heal her own heart by extending her hands to others, ensuring that her personal loss is transformed into a wide-ranging, shared blessing for the community around her.