Thai Laab (Thai Pork Salad)

Welcome to the second installment of the zlog taking the world by storm, THE ZITCHEN*!!!

*for an explanation as to the blog's name, see its first post ever (:

On the menu for today is another Thai dish called “Laab,” “Thai Pork Salad,” or, in certain horrendous romanizations, “Larb.”  *shudder*  Please never call it “Larb.”

Laab, in all its ethereal glory

 If you asked a hundred Thai food aficionados to pick their favorite Thai comfort food, you’d likely get a toss-up between complicated yet highly popular Pad Thai and exotic, incredibly flavorful Laab.  Let me tell you, after probably a dozen tried and failed attempts at Pad Thai and an equal number of tried and true successes with Laab, you are going to LOVE this recipe.  So. Dang. Easy.  And Zichael and I love it.  When we want to make something amazing to share with friends, this is our go-to Thai dish.  You remember Ratatouille?  Little fireworks going off in the brain when you taste amazing combinations of flavors? Well, this dish delivers a whole Fourth of July spectacular.  ♪♫Da da daaa, da da da dadadada♫♪

Limes, mint and green onion combine with magical results!

Now…..warning…..this recipe is going to look weird.  That is because I decided to write it like I make it- intuitively.  No exact measuring is ever involved….that makes it fun ;-)  Seriously!! One of the great pleasures of Thai cooking is achieving the perfect balance of salty, spicy, tangy and sweet.  It’s not hard!  Just add a little flavor at a time and taste-test like you mean it.  Oh and one quick note.....I LOVE MY NEW PHONE with its INCREDIBLE CAMERA that took all the mouthwatering pictures you see in this blog!!! Thank you soooo much to my husband ZICHAEL!  Now LET’S MAKE LAAB!

LAAB/ THAI PORK SALAD

Ingredients:

The Meat           
Ground Pork – 1 pound  

The Flavor          
Limes – 2-3

Fish Sauce – 1 Tablespoon-ish

Ground Thai Chili Pepper – a dash-ish

The Green Things (veggies)

Red Onion – Half of one medium onion, thinly sliced 

Green Onion – 3 sprigs or so, thinly sliced

Cilantro – one handful of rinsed, chopped leaves (stems okay-ish)

Mint – one handful of rinsed, chopped leaves (stems definitely not okay)

The Garnishes   
Cabbage – one quarter of a fresh cabbage, cut into hefty wedges

Toasted Ground Sticky Rice (optional) – sprinkle on individual servings as desired

Ground Thai Chili Pepper – sprinkle on individual servings as desired

The Side Dish  
Sticky Rice (or another variety if you don’t have equipment to steam your own!).

Recipe:

The Meat      Cook up the ground pork EXACTLY like ground beef and transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Didn’t I tell you this was easy??

EIGHT SERVINGS OF GROUND PORK!!!!  We made a HUGE batch which fed eight people (:

The Flavor      Squeeze half of the limes over the ground beef, add the fish sauce and JES’ A SMIDGEN of the ground Thai chili pepper.  Mix everything together and taste-test.  If not tangy enough, add more lime.  If not salty enough, add more fish sauce.  If not spicy enough, guess what ya need??  Yep.  Ground Thai Chili Pepper.  Mix and re-taste, add, mix and re-taste until that glorious, coveted “Wow Factor” is at last achieved.

                                                       

The Green Things (veggies)       

                        Add all the veggies and herbs to the mixing bowl and combine thoroughly!  TASTE IT!  ISN’T IT HEAVENLY??  If it’s not heavenly, tweak the flavoring as described above until it IS heavenly and you see the mental fireworks.  They’re real. 

Mmmmmmmint (so good!)

The Garnishes/Side Dish

                        Place a heaping serving of Laab on each person’s plate, and add to it a generous side of sticky (or another variety) rice, a nice wedge of cabbage, and optional ground toasted sticky rice or additional ground chili powder as people like it.

Now eat it....  

Everyone…..

....you are welcome.

Enjoy all the crystal clear pictures and please PLEASE comment with questions, comments, or jokes.  Also check out the Zafterthoughts for additional tips and tricks in making this magnificent recipe.  And one day…I WILL type up a tutorial on making Sticky Rice.  And Ground Toasted Sticky Rice.  But for now…just Google them.  K’ BYE!

Heaven on a plate. 

ZAFTERTHOUGHTS

In this section after the actual recipe, you will find more detailed information about some of the ingredients and techniques on using them well.

The Meat (Ground Pork)

Nothing too crazy comes to mind when I think of what tips to include here.  Just make sure that you cook it REALLY REALLY well.  No pink.  All brown.  Medium rare has its place in this world of ours, but not when pork is involved.  Can you say “Trichinosis??”

KEEP THAT COOKIN!

The Flavor      Limes- Buy limes that feel like they have a thin, squishable skin.  As limes age, the rind thickens and hardens, absorbing the juice and resulting in tiny green golf balls.  To use fresh limes, rinse them well and cut them in half.

 

                        I HIGHLY recommend that you invest in a citrus squeezer as shown in this pic (if you don’t have one, get one!! WALMART!) and save your hands from developing premature arthritis (only slightly exaggerating).  Otherwise, roll the WHOLE rinsed limes on your countertop to break up some of the juice sacs inside.  THEN cut in half and squeeze them with your hands.  YUM. 

Fish Sauce!  X-)

        Fish Sauce- Sold at supermarkets in the "Ethnic" sections.  

        It's stinky but necessary for Thai cooking and is usually 

       where the salty aspect of the dish originates. 

      

                       

                         Ground Thai Chili Pepper- Buy this at an Asian Grocery Supply store.  It  will easily last you a year or longer. Just do not breathe it in, don't rub your  eyes if you get any on your fingers, etc etc etc.  

                            

The Green Things (Veggies)

                        Red Onion- The red onion in this dish is definitely a supporting player, but also kind of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy.  If you notice the onion flavor, you’ve likely added too much.  Just slice them thin and add to your liking (:  Freeze any sliced leftovers and toss them in your NEXT batch of Laab!  :D

Red onion, delish

       Green Onion – Turns out my pic I took while making the recipe was blurry. :(  So just imagine there's one here!  Use the greener parts of the green onion, saving the last three or so inches of root end to submerge in clean water and grow your own at home!  Change the water every 5 days or more often if the water appears dirty or smells onion-y.  Oh and the sliced leftovers don’t freeze that well….but you can prep and store your own DRIED green onions by following this simple method: #1- rinse and chop green onions.  #2-Preheat the oven to 200°.  Once preheated, TURN IT OFF.  #3- arrange chopped green onions in a shallow layer on a baking dish and place in the oven to rest overnight or until they are shriveled and BONE DRY.  #4- take an empty parsley flakes canister and fill with the homemade dried green onions to sit in your spice cabinet!  You now have a readily available garnish for soups, baked potatoes, etc.  But not Laab.  Heavens no.  Only fresh ingredients will do.

                               

       Cilantro –  To make your 50 cent bunch last as long as possible, when you bring it home simply take some kitchen shears and snip off the bottom 1/4" or 1/2" of stems and place in a clear jar of a few inches of clean water.  Snipping off the ends works the same as in cut flowers, opening up the "plant water transportation system" so the leaves can suck up water better from the stem. I know there are technical terms for what I'm describing, but I don't know them right off the top of my head...vascular something... Anyway.  Stick it in the fridge and change the water every several days.  Mine last up to 2.5 weeks in this way!

                              

       Mint –       I used to keep some in a little pot in my kitchen, but it just wasn't enough to sustain our mint needs.  SO a good friend of mine donated several mint cuttings to me when she moved.  I potted them in a bigger container and left them in the front yard where the sprinklers can get them.  It is lovely.......  Ok.  Use fresh mint but if you plant it keep it in a container! Mint is very hardy and will overtake any ground it can.

Only the leaves growing from the pot are mint.  The rest are weeds.

The Garnishes

 Cabbage –      Choose a solid, dense cabbage without cuts or nicks at the grocery store.  Take it home and rinse it well, removing the outer few leaves.  Carefully cut off the amount you need for this recipe.   To store the rest of the cabbage, first decide if you want it whole or chopped for its next destined recipe.  If whole (like for cabbage roll-ups or something), it will stay in the fridge for several days, but when you pull it out again it may have developed black splotchies along the cut edges.  If this happens, the unaffected cabbage is still okay to eat; you’ll just want to make sure you cut well away the damaged parts.   If chopped (like for cabbage salad, Mexican Posole, or tacos), go ahead and chop it up and store it in the fridge in a covered bowl full of water.  The water will keep it crisp and fresh for a day or two. 

                                

Toasted Ground Sticky Rice – pretty easy but I don't usually add it as Zichael isn't a fan. I HOWEVER LOVE IT.  If you like nuts in your brownies, cookies and bread, you'll also probably love this.  A tutorial will come soon.  (:

Sticky rice that has been toasted and ground my YOURS TRULY, Zarolyn

                               

The Side Dish    Sticky Rice – tutorial coming soon! (:

Beautiful, tender sticky rice....how do I love thee?

THANK YOU FOR VISITING THE ZITCHEN! (: