Laab Gai - Minced pork in fresh herb salad

Minced Pork Salad – Laab Moo

Laab Moo is a popular dish throughout Thailand and is made with toasted rice powder and fresh herbs. Laab Moo is made with ground pork but you can also make Laab Gai with ground chicken. Be sure to adjust the chillies to your preferred heat level!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Tbsp glutinous rice
  • 1/4 cup water
  •  200g minced pork or chicken
  • 2 Tbsp shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped if large leaves
  • 2 Tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped
  • 2 Tbsp Sawtooth coriander, roughly chopped
  •  2 Tbsp green onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
  •  2 Tbsp lime juice
  • Chilli flakes to taste (1 tsp for medium spicy)
  • Serve with cabbage slices and string beans (cut into 12cm sticks)

Directions

  1. Toast glutinous rice in a dry frying pan over medium low heat, moving it constantly, until golden brown. Grind with a coffee grinder or in a mortar and pestle into a sand-like texture.
  2. In a pan, add minced pork or chicken and water and cook over medium heat. While the temperature of the pan rises you should persistently break up the meat and mix well with the water to avoid clumps. Keep stirring to break up the meat until it is fully cooked throughout. Remove from heat.
  3. Tip the cooked pork into a mixing bowl (or leave in your pan if it is large enough to mix all other ingredients later) and leave to cool slightly while prepping the other ingredients.
  4. Add sliced shallots, fish sauce, lime juice, ground toasted rice, and chilli flakes. Mix well, taste, and adjust to your liking.
  5. Lastly, add coriander, green onion, and half of the mint leaves into the bowl and stir to mix.
  6. Plate up and top with more mint leaves. Serve with string beans and thin wedges of cabbage.