Larb (aka laab, lahb, laap)

This dish is from Northern Thailand as well as Laos and it's one of my favorite things to make as well as to eat. And it's easy, easy, easy!

With just a little heavy lifting upfront in the form of some veg chopping you're pretty much home-free.

Larb is technically a salad, but it's made up of about equal parts meat to veggies, and the veggies are mostly in the form of fresh herbs. That along with a heavy squeeze of lime juice makes this dish exceptionally bright and punchy in the flavor department.

I like the dish spicy like it's meant to be, but it's easy to dial up or down depending on what you like or if you're serving children like I usually am.

And it's not just adaptable when it comes to the heat. This is a recipe that you don't have to follow the ingredient list to the "T". Use whatever herbs you have on hand (just make sure there are a lot of them) and it'll still be the best salad you've ever had.

Eat it outside (with an ocean view preferably), on a hot day, with a cold beer and that's about as good as a meal can get!

You'll often find this dish served with lettuce wraps, rice, and various other vegetable accouterments, like sliced cucumbers, carrots, radishes, and fried shallots. And if you have all of that, go for it, it makes for a fun and interactive meal to it.

But honestly, if you just spoon this on top of a bowl of rice, I don't think you'll hear anyone complaining.

The best (and easiest) way to make this dish is to prep and organize all of your aromatics into two separate bowls.

Bowl 1 will contain the ingredients that will be cooked with your meat:

• Ginger
• Scallion whites
• Half of the shallots (or onion)
• Half of the chilis

Bowl 2 will contain the ingredients that will be left raw and added to the meat after it's finished cooking:

• Scallion greens
• Half of the shallots (or onion)
• Half of the chilis
• Cilantro
• Thai Basil
• Mint

Recipe Notes
*The recipe calls for toasted rice powder, which you should be able to find at your local Asian market. This adds an extra dimension to the dish that is quite nice. However, if you can't, or just don't want to make an extra trip, you can leave it out and you'll be just fine. Alternatively, you can toast dry, uncooked rice in a dry pan until it is a nice light brown and very fragrant, let that cool then blend into a powder. Or if you have rice flour lying around, toast that up in a dry pan and you're good to go.

*I most frequently make this with ground pork (larb moo), but just about any ground meat will do. Lamb and chicken (larb gai) are both excellent options.

*Shallots are ideal in this recipe, but if you don't have any, any onion will work.

*Traditionally, the meat is just cooked through without any browning. However, I prefer the additional flavor you get from a little Maillard reaction, so I cook mine a little longer and a little hotter. If you make this twice, try it both ways and see what you prefer.

Larb Moo

• 1T                               Neutral Oil (grapeseed, peanut, canola, etc.)
• 1#                               Ground Pork 
• 2”                               Ginger, minced
• 5ea                        Scallions, sliced (whites and greens divided)
• 3ea                             Shallot, small diced (divided)
• 3ea                             Thai Bird Chile, minced
• 1bunch                       Cilantro, rough chopped (stems and all)
• 1/2bunch                   Thai Basil, stems removed rough chopped
• 1/2bunch                   Mint, stems removed rough chopped
• 2T                               Toasted Rice Powder
• 2ea                              Limes
• 1T+                             Fish Sauce

1. In a large pan heat oil over medium heat.
2. When oil begins to shimmer, add ground pork and cook, continuously breaking into small pieces until it begins to brown (see recipe note on browning).
3. Add (bowl 1) the ginger, scallion whites, and half of the shallots and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes. By now you should have some nice brown bits of ginger, garlic, and pork and the mixture is likely starting to stick to your pan.
4. Deglaze your pan with a few ounces of water to get any brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and add (bowl 2) the chilis, chopped herbs, scallion greens, and half of the shallots, along with the toasted rice powder, lime juice, and fish sauce. Mix to combine.
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more lime juice and fish sauce.