Spicy minced pork salad
Fresh, fiery and full of zing – Thai larb (larb moo) is no ordinary salad. It hits all the right notes in under 20 minutes and is perfect for spooning into crisp lettuce cups or piling onto sticky rice. Either way, it’s a definite crowd-pleaser.
Cooking: 15–18 mins
Serves: 4
Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp uncooked sticky rice (or jasmine rice)
- 500g minced pork
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 1 tbsp sugar (palm sugar if available)
- 2–4 Thai chillies, finely chopped (adjust to taste)
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- A handful of fresh mint leaves
- A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- Optional: 1 tbsp toasted chilli flakes (for extra heat)
- Little Gem lettuce leaves (for serving)
Recipe
- In a dry frying pan over a medium heat, toast the uncooked rice until deep brown and fragrant (about 5–7 minutes). Allow to cool, then grind into a coarse powder using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Set aside.
- In a frying pan or wok, cook the minced pork over a medium heat with a splash of water. Stir until it’s just cooked through, then remove from the heat.
- While the pork is still warm, mix in the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and chillies. Stir well to combine.
- Toss in the toasted rice powder, spring onions, red onion, mint, coriander and chilli flakes (if using). Mix gently as you want the herbs to stay fresh and punchy.
To serve: Spoon the larb into Little Gem lettuce leaves for easy bite-sized portions or serve on a plate with a scoop of sticky rice. Light, fresh and seriously moreish!
Try this: Make our Thai green lamb curry the main event and serve the larb in lettuce cups as a starter for six.