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Laab Moo (Pork Laab)
Pork laab, sometimes spelled larb, is a meaty Thai salad flavored with fish sauce, lime juice, raw shallot or onion, and herbs. This version is inspired by the elements Nashville-based chef Arnold Myint says are essential to the classic dish, including cilantro, mint, lemongrass and khao khua, ground toasted rice you can make at home to add a nutty, almost smoky note. Short-grain sticky rice is typically used, but jasmine works well, too. Most pork laab recipes call for poaching the meat, but here you will fry it so it has some crispy bits. Serve with quartered cabbage leaves to make wraps at the table, or thinly slice the cabbage for more of a plated salad.
Ingredients
measuring cup
Servings: 4 (makes about 3 cups)
- 1 tablespoon uncooked jasmine rice or sticky rice
- 1 pound ground pork, preferably 85 percent lean
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes), plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce, plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 stalk lemongrass, dry outer peel removed, tender core thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 fresh bird’s eye chile, finely chopped
- 1/2 small head green cabbage (1 pound total), cut into wedges and separated into individual leaves, or thinly sliced
