Larb Laab Thai Meat Salad With Mint And Lemongrass Recipes

THAI LARB RECIPE

Steps:

• Dice half the onion (you'll need 1 cup diced) and thinly slice 1/4 of the onion ( 1/4- 1/2 cup).
• Place the sliced onions in a bowl, cover with 1/2 cup hot boiling water and 2 tablespoons vinegar, place in the fridge.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup diced red onion, saute 3-4 minutes, add garlic, lemongrass and chili flakes. Saute until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Add the ground meat, breaking it apart with a metal spatula. Season the meat with the salt and pepper and continue cooking until all the liquid releases and evaporates about 10 minutes. Drain the fat from the meat, using a fine-mesh strainer.
• While the ground meat is cooking, prep the remaining ingredients. Place the cucumber, radish, scallions, mint, basil, cilantro, fresh chili (optional) in a bowl. Add the drained meat and the strained pickled onions. Add the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. Taste, adjust salt, lime and heat. I'll usually add more chili flakes. or finely diced fresh chilies.
• Serve with lettuce wraps and/or cooked rice. Serve warm or chilled. ( If chilling, make doubly sure to strain all the fat from the meat -it will harden in the fridge.)

THAI LARB RECIPE (LARB MOO ลาบหมู)

Steps:

• First step is to make the toasted rice (khao kua ข้าวคั่ว).
• Heat a frying pan on low heat, toss in the uncooked Thai sticky rice (no oil). Stir continuously, kind of like you're roasting peanuts or coffee. Toast the rice until it turns from white to golden yellow, almost to the point where it looks like brown wheat. It will also be very fragrant and smell almost like popcorn. It took me about 15 minutes or so.
• Once the rice is finished toasting, and has cooled off a bit, put it into your stone mortar and pestle. Pound the rice until it turns into a coarse powder (a blender or food processor will also work fine). Put your toasted sticky rice powder in a bowl aside.
• Add 300 grams of minced pork to a small sized saucepan with a handle. Fry the pork, breaking it into small minced pieces, until it's fully cooked all the way through. For best flavor, leave all the oils that come out (but if you want to be healthier, you can also drain the pork oil, and add in a splash of water instead). Take the pork off the heat.
• Leaving the pork in the same pot, add 1 heaping tablespoon of the toasted rice powder into the pork. Also toss in ½ - 1 tablespoon of chili flakes.
• Add a pinch of sugar, ½ tablespoon of fish sauce, and squeeze in the juice from 1 - 2 limes (I used about 1 ½ full limes, but I like it quite sour).
• Give the pork and the seasoning a quick stir.
• Peel and slice the shallots, finely mince about 5 green onions and a few culantro leaves (if you have them), and just pluck about 20 or so mint leaves off the stem. Throw everything into the saucepan with the pork.
• Give the larb moo a good mix, making sure all the spices and dressing coats the pork.
• Taste test. See if it needs more fish sauce for saltiness, lime juice, or chili flakes. Get it the way you want it.
• Dish it out onto a plate and garnish with more mint leaves, Thai sweet basil, and culantro.

LARB

Steps:

• Cook the ground meat until done and drain.
• Mix the meat with the lime juice, fish sauce, red onions, chili peppers (optional), roasted rice powder and mix well.
• Serve on bed of lettuce and top with sliced green onions and mint leaves.
• May add additional red peppers if you desire it hotter.
• Enjoy.

THAI CHICKEN LARB

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook and stir until chicken is broken into little pieces, about 5 minutes. Add red onion and scallions. Continue to cook and break up the chicken until browned, about 2 minutes. Add cilantro, mint, ginger, lemon grass, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until flavors blend, about 3 minutes more. Season with sea salt.

LARB (LAAB) THAI MEAT SALAD WITH MINT AND LEMONGRASS

Steps:

• Combine the first four ingredients in a medium bowl. Save this sauce for later.
• Simmer the broth in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground chicken. Simmer until cooked through, breaking up any clumps of meat with a spoon, about 8 minutes. Add green onions, shallots, lemongrass and chillies. Stir until vegetables are tender and most of liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sauce, cilantro and mint.
• You can serve this salad as is with butter lettuce or use it as a filling for your fresh rolls.