Pork Laab
Published Feb 25, 2013•Updated Apr 19, 2022
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This herby, fragrant, beloved Thai salad (laab or larb) makes a complete meal with rice and a fried egg on top. Although this version uses pork (‘moo’ in Thai), you can use chicken, beef, or minced mushrooms if you prefer. The flavor comes from fresh herbs, lime juice, and spice from chili powder. As we have done in adapting this recipe to our tastes, start with this basic recipe and shift as you go. We like it spicy with lots of lime.
Early last week I was in Prachinburi, two and half hours’ drive to the east of Bangkok, near Cambodia. It is a vast, elegant province of rice fields and quiet communities in which it was easy to imagine that neighbors might have known neighbors for generations.
We made our way back towards Bangkok at the end of the day, driving past night markets full of food and families, circles of children hatching schemes, and people gathered outdoors to watch the evening traffic and gossip.
I am now, more than two years into our stay in Thailand, familiar with this sensation of the day closing under the hazy orange glow of a tropical sun. It is a time of day that feels the same, I would imagine, in many parts of the world. A time when we slow down and turn our thoughts toward more personal pursuits.
Driving across the country on my return from Prachinburi, I felt the simultaneous sense of newness and familiarity that comes on so often here. There is a balance in our lives these days that allows us to hold tight to our traditions while embracing something entirely new. I feel it as I watch Frank at the stovetop making laab moo with as much ease as he once assembled a turkey sandwich.
These experiences have become a fundamental part of who we are. I imagine that years from now, pieces of this life we lived in Thailand will be an inextricable part of the lives of our children as well. They will never think twice when they smell the familiar aroma of lemongrass and mint while Frank makes laab.
Experiencing a different culture, whether for a few days or months or years, makes you understand that there are more things in common in all our lives than different. We all let down our guard a bit as the light in the sky shifts to dusk.
We all pick up bits and pieces from everyday experience and assemble them into our life’s story.
More Thai Salads
- Thai Beef Salad (Nam Tok)
- Thai Pomelo Salad (Yam Som O)
- Thai Minced Chicken Salad (Laab / Larb Gai)
- Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam)
- Thai Shrimp Salad
- Som Tum Thai (Spicy Papaya Salad)
- Thai Glass Noodle Salad (Yum Woon Sen)
- Thai Chopped Chicken Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette
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Laab Moo (Thai Salad with Pork, Herbs, and Lime)
Equipment
- Wok or Saute Pan
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Pork (460 g)
- 1 cup Cilantro Leaves
- 2 Green Onions (scallions)
- 15 Mint Leaves
- 1 clove Shallot, finely chopped
- 2 stalks Lemongrass, just the bottom 2 inches, outer leaves removed and discarded
- 3 Makrut Lime Leaves, very thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp Toasted Rice Powder
- 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
- juice squeezed from 1 and 1/2 limes
- 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper (adjust for preferred spice)
For Serving:
- 1 cup Cooked White Rice
- 4 Fried Eggs
- Lime Wedges
Instructions
- Transfer the pork to a medium saucepan or wok. Heat the pan, with the pork, slowly over medium heat until the pork begins to sizzle. Cook the pork, stirring to break it up into small pieces, until just cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Strain off excess liquid. Transfer pork to a mixing bowl and allow to cool.
- While the pork cools, finely chop the cilantro, green onions, mint and shallot. Thinly slice the lemongrass stalks and lime leaves.
- Stir cilantro, green onions, mint, shallot, lemongrass, lime leaves, toasted rice powder, fish sauce, and lime juice into pork. Add crushed red pepper, to taste, and stir.
- Taste the laab and adjust the seasoning to your liking. We often add an extra pinch of salt, lime juice and / or red pepper flakes after the initial seasoning.
- Serve immediately with rice, a fried egg and a few extra lime wedges.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hello!
Found your recipe/post via https://theweekendedition.com.au/food-drink/the-grocer-larb/. This is a delicious looking larb and great recipe. Your photos are fantastic! Best wishes. 🙂
I love laab! And you are right about pieces of your life now becoming a part of your children’s lives too — I didn’t visit Thailand until I was 18, but the smell and taste of khao man gai, tom yum and even jook are inextricable parts of my childhood memories, thanks to my parents.
Anjali – I love to hear that. What a beautiful way to be exposed to a place long before you visit in person – through food, and I would imagine, through your parents’ stories.
What an incredibly lovely post, Jess. I wish I could travel more. I’ve only been out of the country (besides Canada) once…when we visited my sister’s family in Cairo for 2 weeks. What an incredible experience, that continues to pop up in our lives almost daily. I can only imagine how your time in Thailand will influence yours in the future. Beautiful salad, too – wish I had a bowl right now!
Brenda – I’ve wondered often about Cairo – what a unique place that must be. There so much out there to explore! I feel so blessed for every minute of this experience we’re having in Thailand. It’s so much fun, but does make me appreciate home all the more.