Americans could definitely take a major leaf out of the Thai cookbook here as far as I’m concerned; salads made of meat are superb.
Immediate, Up-Front Disclaimer: This is in no way traditionally Thai!
Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: I am perfectly at peace with that!
There. Ass covered. As to why I didn’t go traditional on this one… it’s a mystery. No really, I usually aim to make my iterations of Thai food as close as possible to the versions I found in Bangkok, because eating 100% traditional Thai dishes all the time made for a seriously excellent culinary lifestyle. However, yesterday I stumbled across a recipe and thought something along the lines of “Oh yeah, I love laab!! Let’s just pick up these ingredients and not research this further at all.”
It was only once I got home and realized this particular recipe had neither lime nor cilantro – two ingredients I would consider essential for proper laab – that doubt crept its sneaky way into the corners of my kitchen. However – and I don’t say this lightly – it totally didn’t matter. That’s right. It may have been the magic of khao kua at work, or perhaps these particular lemons were aspiring lime-wannabes. Although fresh green sprigs would definitely be preferable, the coriander powder absolutely did its duty in standing in taste-wise for the missing cilantro.
Next time I’m going to give She Simmers’ much more traditional version a whirl – you can also thank her for the linguistically mindful multiple versions of the English transliteration of ลาบ – but we devoured this sham of a knockoff, and for very good reason. Like so many other Thai foods, laab is fun to eat; not only do you get to stuff it into lettuce leaves, forming the most adorable faux-tacos that could ever call themselves a salad, but the multitude of flavors is engaging with every crunch. The sour and spicy elements are balanced by cool mint, and bursts of red onion and scallion interrupt the overriding savoriness of the pork.
Laab/Lahb/Larb Mu – Spicy Sour Pork Salad
slightly adapted from Tan Kitchen
makes: 3-4 side salads
time: 25 minutes
1 1/2 cups of ground pork – I ground my own from a couple boneless pork sirloins in the food processor, because I like to know where it comes from. You can, of course, use chicken or beef or even duck if you like.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2-4 dried or fresh thai chiles, chopped – I used dried bird chiles
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon khao kua – don’t leave this out!
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon chopped red onion
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/2 head lettuce, torn into large leaves for shaping wraps
1. In saucepan, brown ground pork and chopped thai chiles in 1 teaspoon cooking oil, until pink is gone. Place in a mixing bowl, let cool for 5 minutes.
2. Season the pork with fish sauce, lemon juice, coriander powder, khao kua and chili powder. Add green onion and chopped red onion.
3. Top with chopped mint and serve with lettuce leaves.
NOTE: Serve this right away, and just make as much as you think will be eaten immediately – I’ve read it doesn’t keep well.
SECOND NOTE: How can I talk about laab and not mention this?
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