One of my favorite Thai dishes to make is the ground meat salad know as laab (or, often, larb). From the Isaan region of Thailand, it is tangy, funky and — most importantly — very easy to make. It needn’t be served hot, so it’s a great protein-packed meal for warmer late spring days and you can find everything you need to make it at any grocery store.
This recipe is a pared-down adaptation of a method from the blog Hot Thai Kitchen by Pailin Chongchitnant. In fact, I’ve pared down the recipe so much that I hesitate to even call it laab; think of it as a pork lettuce cup dish inspired by laab. It keeps the critical tang of lime juice, funk of fish sauce and nuttiness of toasted rice powder, but it skips the plethora of herbs and chiles traditionally found in the dish. The lettuce cups on the side for serving will add the same crisp texture as the herbs, and you can top it with red pepper flakes at the table if you want a bit of heat.
The most critical component of the dish is the toasted rice powder, which is simple and quick to make. Simply toast a few tablespoons of white rice (whatever you’ve got at home works fine) until it is deeply golden brown, then grind to a fine powder in a coffee grinder. (A high-speed blender will also work, but you’ll need to double the rice to have enough volume to blend; use half in the recipe, then save the remainder for next time.) The rice powder not only adds nutty flavor, but also pleasantly coarse texture and a bit of thickening power to help the lime-fish sauce dressing to cling to the pork.
Laab-Style Pork
3 tablespoons uncooked white rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fish sauce, plus more to taste
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
Salt, to taste
On the side: Steamed rice, lettuce cups and red pepper flakes
Place the rice in a large skillet and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring and shaking the pan frequently, until dark golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a clean coffee grinder and let cool to room temperature.
While the rice cools, wipe out any rice residue from the skillet and add the oil. Place over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the pork and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat into small bits, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the shallots and stir until they’re wilted from the residual heat in the skillet.
Grind the rice in the coffee grinder until it forms a fine powder. Add to the pork, along with the fish sauce and lime juice. Stir well to combine. Season to taste with salt and additional fish sauce and lime juice.
Serve with rice, lettuce cups and red pepper flakes.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 281 calories (percent of calories from fat, 33), 38 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram total sugars, trace fiber, 10 grams total fat (3 grams saturated), 100 milligrams cholesterol, 1,598 milligrams sodium.
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