Pork larb (laab)

For brevity, the dish is referred to as pork larb in this blog because that it the name by which it is more popularly known globally.

What is this dish? It is sweet-tangy-salty-spicy minced pork with khao koor (ground toasted sticky rice), basil, mint and chili traditionally served with sticky rice.

What do you need to cook pork larb?

Ingredients may vary depending on the cook and whether the dish is more Thai than Laotian or vice versa. Here’s a list of what we use at home.

Ground pork with at least twenty per cent fat. The meat browns in the rendered fat to give it better flavor. Excess rendered fat soaks up the crunchy toasted rice for even more flavor.

Sticky (glutinous) rice is a special variety of rice. The grains are whiter and more opaque. The grains are toasted until browned then ground until sandy in appearance. This is what gives larb a lovely crunch with every mouthful.

The sauce is a combination of fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. I use a 2:2:1 ratio but feel free to find your own flavor balance.

Chili flakes are available in most Asian groceries. Korean groceries rarely run out of the stuff. And that’s what we use at home. Korean chili flakes which aren’t as hot as others but actually rather sweet with a subtle smokiness.

Shallots are small onions but just because an onion is small doesn’t automatically make it a shallot. The most telling characteristic of the shallot is that, like garlic, a single bulb contains two or more cloves or segments. The skin can be reddish, brownish or grayish.

The default greens are Thai basil and mint. We used a combination of Thai and purple basil (because the latter was just begging to be harvested), and spearmint.

How to cook pork larb (laab)

It is best to toast the rice and grind it before you begin the actual cooking. If you prep the rice while the meat is already in the pan, the ground pork will be dry by the time the rice is toasted and pulverized.

Brown the pork in an oil-free pan. If your pork has sufficient amount of fat, there is no need to use oil. The fat will turn into oil as the pork cooks and the rendered fat will be enough to brown the meat. To the browned pork, add chili flakes and the ground toasted sticky rice.

Once the pork, chili flakes and ground toasted sticky rice are blended and the mixture has acquired a homogenous appearance, pour in the sauce and stir.

Take the pan off the stove. Cooling the meat down for a few minutes before adding the herbs is ideal so that the greens retain their color and bright flavors rather than wither in the heat.

The the shallots first. Among the vegetables that are added at this stage, shallot has the highest tolerance for heat. Toss them in to bring the temperature of the pork some more before adding the scallions.

Finally, throw in the Thai basil and mint. Toss everything thoroughly to distribute the greens as evenly as possible.