Asia:
Laos:
Laotian National Dish Pork Larb (Meat Salad)
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon uncooked sticky rice (you can also substitute regular white rice if you don’t have sticky rice)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground pork (450 g)
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 lime (juiced)
1 red chili (sliced)
3 shallots (peeled and thinly sliced)
3 scallions (chopped)
¼ cup cilantro
½ cup mint
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a dry wok or pan over low heat, toast the rice grains, stirring continuously until they turn golden and fragrant––about 10 minutes. Grind to a coarse powder in a mortar & pestle. Set aside.
Place your wok back over high heat until smoking. Add the oil and the ground pork. Stir-fry until the pork is browned, and add in the toasted rice powder, sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice.
Stir-fry for another minute, and then add in the chili, shallots, scallions, cilantro, and mint. Stir-fry for one more minute, and then taste for seasoning, adding more chili, sugar, fish sauce, and/or lime juice to your taste if needed.
Serve with sticky rice, steamed jasmine rice, and/or lettuce leaves.
