Beef Larb Food

LARB

Steps:

• Cook the ground meat until done and drain.
• Mix the meat with the lime juice, fish sauce, red onions, chili peppers (optional), roasted rice powder and mix well.
• Serve on bed of lettuce and top with sliced green onions and mint leaves.
• May add additional red peppers if you desire it hotter.
• Enjoy.

THAI LARB RECIPE (LARB MOO ลาบหมู)

Steps:

• First step is to make the toasted rice (khao kua ข้าวคั่ว).
• Heat a frying pan on low heat, toss in the uncooked Thai sticky rice (no oil). Stir continuously, kind of like you're roasting peanuts or coffee. Toast the rice until it turns from white to golden yellow, almost to the point where it looks like brown wheat. It will also be very fragrant and smell almost like popcorn. It took me about 15 minutes or so.
• Once the rice is finished toasting, and has cooled off a bit, put it into your stone mortar and pestle. Pound the rice until it turns into a coarse powder (a blender or food processor will also work fine). Put your toasted sticky rice powder in a bowl aside.
• Add 300 grams of minced pork to a small sized saucepan with a handle. Fry the pork, breaking it into small minced pieces, until it's fully cooked all the way through. For best flavor, leave all the oils that come out (but if you want to be healthier, you can also drain the pork oil, and add in a splash of water instead). Take the pork off the heat.
• Leaving the pork in the same pot, add 1 heaping tablespoon of the toasted rice powder into the pork. Also toss in ½ - 1 tablespoon of chili flakes.
• Add a pinch of sugar, ½ tablespoon of fish sauce, and squeeze in the juice from 1 - 2 limes (I used about 1 ½ full limes, but I like it quite sour).
• Give the pork and the seasoning a quick stir.
• Peel and slice the shallots, finely mince about 5 green onions and a few culantro leaves (if you have them), and just pluck about 20 or so mint leaves off the stem. Throw everything into the saucepan with the pork.
• Give the larb moo a good mix, making sure all the spices and dressing coats the pork.
• Taste test. See if it needs more fish sauce for saltiness, lime juice, or chili flakes. Get it the way you want it.
• Dish it out onto a plate and garnish with more mint leaves, Thai sweet basil, and culantro.

SPICY LARB WITH CABBAGE CUPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast peanuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until skins are slightly darkened and nuts are golden brown, 6-8 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop or crush into small pieces.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high until shimmering. Add garlic and cook, smashing down on cloves to break into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until some parts are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Push garlic to one side of pan, then add pork and a pinch of salt to the other side. Cook, smashing and stirring pork and garlic together, until no clumps remain and meat is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook; as soon as you can't see any pink, remove from heat. Mix in shallot, scallions, chiles, lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, and half of peanuts. Let larb cool slightly, then stir in mint. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
• Transfer larb to a large bowl. Serve with cabbage, rice, lime wedges, and remaining peanuts.

LAAB - THAI GROUND BEEF SALAD

Steps:

• Toast rice in a dry skillet (no oil) over medium-high heat. Cook rice, shaking pan frequently until rice turns golden, about 8 minutes.
• While rice is toasting, combine beef, 3 tablespoons of the lime juice, Fish Sauce, shallots and ginger in a bowl.
• When rice is golden, pour on plate to cool. In same skillet over high heat, add beef mixture. Cook, breaking meat into small pieces, about 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from heat.
• Add remaining tablespoon of lime juice, scallions, mint, cilantro, Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce and sugar to meat. Mix well.
• Add cooled rice to spice grinder or blender, and grind into a sandy powder. Add to meat mixture and mix well.
• Spoon laab into a serving bowl lined with lettuce leaves, or serve on individual leaves for a pretty presentation. Garnish with whole mint leaves.