Thai food is complicated, especially if you make it from scratch. Herbs and spices are ground into thick pastes, sauteed along with veggies, resulting in flavorful curries and sides. Salad is an easier affair. Especially larb. Larb is a herbaceous composition of cooked meat, cilantro, mint and red onion piled high on buttery lettuce. Lime juice dresses the salad and packs a mouth-puckering punch. The salad has one essential factor, toasted rice powder. Make a lot and keep it in an airtight jar. It is the crunch that tastes so good.
Start with ground pork, beef, chicken or turkey. Vegetarians could use lightly browned tofu. Saute the meat with garlic, till brown. Braise the meat uncovered till the liquid evaporates and you are left with browned bits of meat. Add fish sauce to the meat. Pile the meat on top of lettuce leaves. Blanket the meat with cilantro, mint and red onion slices. Add spicy chile flakes. Sprinkle toasted rice powder over the salad. All you need is a fork and a good appetite.
PORK LARB
Serves 4
1 pound ground Pork (or any ground meat of choice)
2 tablespoons Canola Oil
4 Garlic cloves
4 tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 teaspoon Sugar
6-8 Boston Lettuce leaves
1 large Red Onion
1/2 cup Cilantro leaves and stems
1/2 cup Mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon Chile Flakes
3 tablespoons Lime Juice
2 teaspoons Toasted Rice Powder (see recipe below)
6-8 Cucumber Spears
Heat oil in a saucepan.
When it shimmers add ground pork, breaking it with a spoon as you saute the meat. Let meat brown well.
Cut garlic into slivers and add to the pork.
Add 1/2 cup or so of water to meat and let the meat braise uncovered for 10 minutes. Cook till all liquid has evaporated and the meat browns and sizzles.
Pour fish sauce and sugar into pork. Stir to mix and keep pork aside to cool.
Cut red onion into thin slices.
Tear lettuce leaves into bite size pieces and arrange on a platter.
Pile pork over lettuce leaves. Add as much meat you want. Leftovers could be added to noodles or fried rice.
Scatter red onion slices, cilantro, mint leaves and chile flakes over pork.
Dress the salad with lime juice just before you are ready to eat.
Sprinkle toasted rice powder over salad.
Arrange cucumber spears around the salad and serve.
NOTES
Toasted rice powder is made by dry-roasting 1/2 cup of Sushi Rice and 3 Kaffir Lime leaves over a high flame till it turns light brown. Grind to a fine powder and store in an airtight container. This powder can be used to add crunch to salads, noodles or curries.
We love the salad. It has a refreshing lemony taste. Light and easy on the eye and figure as well. Another winner at my table!
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