cook: laab

I spied lots of mint in the garden, had a cucumber, green beans, cilantro in the fridge and had stopped at grocery stores for ground pork and jasmine rice because I wanted to make laab, which from Thai restaurants I had ordered as larb and ate as a salad though it was never really served with lettuce and which I ate as an appetizer. Looking up the recipe, laab is simple enough. Just cook the meat in a a couple tablespoons of boiling water and then toss with sliced shallots and fresh herbs and toasted rice powder and serve with raw vegetables like cucumber and cabbage. I didn't have a large mortar and pestle, but I did have a big muddler and metal bowl.

My neighbor had come over and suggested tomatoes while I toasted the jasmine rice. She also drizzled lots of fish sauce and had me taste because she'd watch her Laotian friends cook the dish. It needed a lot more herbs and instead of squeezing the 4 limes juice, she had me cut them into quarters and bash all together with the muddler.

 

And I totally forgot about the green beans and cucumbers I had intended to serve the laab with, and instead ate with lettuce leaves and steamed jasmine rice.

I ate the laab like lettuce wraps, and the meal just brimmed with freshness of herbs and citrus. Larb will definitely be in the meal rotation.