Description
An iconic salad of ground meat from northeastern Thailand. The flavours of laab is fresh, bright and spicy. Super Thai food beginner-friendly and very quick and easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1.5 Tbsp white glutinous rice or jasmine rice *
- 2 Tbsp water
- 250 g/9 oz ground pork (preferably not lean)
- 3 Tbsp finely sliced shallot
- 1/4 cup mint leaves, rough chopped if leaves are large
- 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1 small green onion, chopped
- 2-3 leaves sawtooth coriander, rough chopped
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 1-2 tsp chili flakes, or to taste
Serve with sticky rice (see recipe) and fresh crunchy vegetables such as long beans, cabbage and cucumber.
Recipe Notes:
* This makes a little bit more than you might need, but it's nice to have extra in case you feel like you want to add more at the end. You can keep any extra for about a week in a tightly sealed container or ziplock bag.
** If you cannot find sawtooth coriander (also known as culantro), you can leave it out.
Instructions
Make toasted rice powder: Put glutinous white rice or jasmine rice in a dry sauté pan and cook over medium high heat, moving it constantly, until a deep brown colour develops. Grind with a coffee grinder or in a mortar and pestle into a sand-like texture.
In a medium pot, add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Then add the ground pork and stir to break it up until it is fully cooked. Remove from the heat.
Using the pot as your mixing bowl, add shallots into the pork and stir to break up the rings and lightly wilt the shallots.
Add the fish sauce, lime juice, 1.5 Tbsp of the toasted ground rice, and the chili powder and stir to mix. Then add the fresh herb: cilantro, sawtooth coriander (if using), green onions and mint. (Tip: If not serving right away, leave the mint leaves until serving time as they tend to turn black when exposed to warm food for a long time.
Taste and adjust to your liking with more fish sauce and lime juice as needed. If it feels a little too salty or acidic, you can add a pinch of sugar to help balance the salt and the acid.
Feel free to garnish with some mint leaves and fried dried chilies. Serve with some fresh crunchy vegetables and sticky rice.
