Quick and easy pork larb recipe

Serves 4

Thai cuisine is something pretty special and one of our favourites. Thai dishes have the perfect combination of aromatic flavours with a spicy edge that always encompass at least three of the five fundamental taste senses in each dish: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and spicy. Larb is roughly translated to a “ground meat salad”, flavoured with lime and fish sauce. Pork can be substituted for chicken, fish, duck, or beef. Try serving the larb in cos lettuce cups for extra freshness or at a party as hand arounds.

Ingredients

• 1 cup glutinous rice, plus 1/3 cup for toasting
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil
• 500g minced pork
• 2 large shallots, finely sliced
• 2 tsp chilli flakes
• Juice of 2-3 limes
• 3 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 cup coriander leaves
• 2 cups mint leaves, roughly chopped

Method

1. In a heavy-based frying pan on a medium heat, toast the extra 1/3 cup of glutinous rice until well browned, moving constantly to stop from burning.
2. Grind in a mortar & pestle until the consistency of sand. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Fry pork until completely cooked making sure it is completely broken up (there should be some meat juices left in the pan).
4. Remove from heat, add the shallots and toss well to slightly soften them. Stir through half the rice powder and chilli flakes. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
5. In a small pot, add 1 ½ cups of cold water to the remaining cup of glutinous rice. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, simmer with lid on for 10-15 minutes until cooked.
6. Add the lime juice and fish sauce to the larb.
7. Stir coriander and mint through the mince and check the flavour balance, adding chilli, lime, or fish sauce if required.
8. To serve, place a small mound each of rice and larb on a plate. Sprinkle with reserved rice powder and serve with lime wedges.

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