Name: Larb Moo (Lao Larb)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Laotian
Ingredients: 500 g minced pork (not too lean — some fat carries the flavour); 100 ml water or pork stock (for poaching); 3 tbsp uncooked glutinous rice (for toasted rice powder); 4 tbsp fish sauce; 4 tbsp lime juice; 2 tbsp padaek (Lao fermented fish sauce) (or extra fish sauce if unavailable); 2 tsp dried chilli flakes (toasted; fewer for milder); 3 pcs shallots (thinly sliced); 4 stalks spring onion (sliced); mint and cilantro leaves (a large handful); 40 g sawtooth coriander (chopped, optional); 100 g long beans or cabbage wedges (for serving on the side)

Method

Toast the rice powder

Toast the uncooked glutinous rice in a dry pan over medium heat for six minutes, stirring often, until deep golden brown, then grind to a coarse powder.

Toasted rice powder (khao khua) is what makes larb taste like larb — don't skip it or substitute breadcrumbs.

6 min

Poach the pork

Bring the water or stock to a simmer, add the minced pork, and stir to break it up, cooking for four minutes until just cooked through and no longer pink.

Poach rather than fry — larb's texture should be loose and moist, not browned and crisped.

4 min

Drain and cool slightly

Drain the pork, reserving a splash of the poaching liquid, and let it cool for five minutes so it doesn't wilt the herbs.

5 min

Season the larb

Toss the warm pork with the fish sauce, lime juice, padaek and toasted chilli flakes, tasting for a punch of sour, salty and hot.

For a vegetarian larb, use crumbled firm tofu and mushrooms simmered the same way, and replace fish sauce and padaek with soy sauce and extra lime.

Add herbs and shallot

Fold in the sliced shallots, spring onion, mint, cilantro and sawtooth coriander, and toss once more with half the toasted rice powder.

Serve

Pile onto a plate, sprinkle the remaining rice powder over the top, and serve with sticky rice and raw long beans or cabbage wedges.

Larb Moo (Lao Larb)

Ingredients

Method

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