Larb

Larb: Optional to eat with lettuce, cabbage or rice. Or rice for a main meal and lettuce for a lunch meal. 

Ingredients: 

  • ¼ cup uncooked rice (+optional: more to cook and serve) 

  • 1 head Butter lettuce, cabbage leaves, or iceberg lettuce 

  • Neutral tasting oil 

  • 1-2lb of ground pork, turkey or chicken (or 1 block extra firm tofu crumbled) 

  • 2 shallots

  • 1-3 cloves garlic

  • 1 stalk lemongrass

  • 1 container kaffir lime leaves

  • 1 bunch cilantro

  • 1 container mint

  • 1 bunch green onions

  • 2 limes 

  • 2-3 tablespoons Fish sauce or to taste (if vegan add vegan fish sauce or just soy sauce)

  • 2 tablespoons Coconut sugar

  • Sauce will be thin:

    • ¼-⅓ cup Fish sauce + more to taste 

    • 2 tbsp Coconut sugar + more to taste

    • 6 limes 

    • 2-4 Thai peppers (optional for spice) 

Instructions: 

  1. If making rice to serve you should make it now.

  2. Add a little oil and brown the meat or crumbled tofu in a pan

  3. Toast about ¼ cup of rice in a dry pan and add to a food processor until finely ground. 

  4. Chop shallot and add to browning protein. 

  5. Add peeled garlic, peeled lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves to the food processor and blitz until everything is very small. Discard any large chunks of lemongrass and add to the browning meat. 

  6. Add a tablespoon or 2 of toasted rice powder and mix well 

  7. Finish browning protein and add fish sauce (or soy sauce if vegan) and coconut sugar mixing well until well coated and let the liquid evaporate before turning off heat. 

  8. Add 2 limes worth of juice LAST. AFTER heat turned off or it will neutralize the acid. 

  9. Let meat cool so it doesn’t over wilt the herbs. 

  10. Mince the green onions, cilantro, and mint and add to the protein, mixing well.

  11. Make the sauce: juice 4-6 limes and add the coconut sugar, fish sauce, and thinly sliced thai peppers if adding. Deseed if desired to lesson heat. Mix well and taste. Adjust as needed. You want it to be salty, tangy and a little funky, usually also spicy if adding the peppers. 

  12. Wash the lettuce of choice and for true larb add the mixture to the lettuce leaves and wrap like a little taco or burrito, dipping in the sauce before eating. 

  13. I also like to just add the mixture to a bowl of rice with a fried egg and some sauce over it. You choose your own adventure!

Adrianna VelozComment