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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GORGEOUS post Jess. And the salad is just as lovely. We went out for Thai last night and I had pad thai – it’s my favorite dish! Your fried eggs are perfect by the way!
I can never resist pad thai, Sally! You would think after living here for so long, I would be tired of it, but I crave it all the more!
What a beautiful post with equally gorgeous images. Inspiring.
Beautiful, heartfelt post! And that looks DELICIOUS. What a perfectly fried egg:-)
Thanks, Rachel! Frying eggs for pictures is not my favorite food challenge, but I think I’m slowly starting to get the hang of it!
Your words let me experience Thailand vicariously. Thank you.
The larb looks delicious!
Thank you, Joyti – that’s so kind, and means a lot coming from you! It’s such a beautiful place – I feel so lucky to be here.
This made me so happy Jess! You said it perfectly! “You got baby???”
Lol – have you been hanging out with Khun Oi?
This sounds so good. I have not been able to get enough Asian food lately. Pinning this.
The longer I live here, the more I crave Asian food, Debra. I can’t get enough! This salad is a definite favorite though – so refreshing with all those herbs.
Jess your writing is so beautiful! This sounds delicious – I bet my husband would like it (he spent some time in Thailand a few years ago). Now if only I could get him to make it for me : )
Ashley – your husband spent time in Thailand? That’s so fun! He definitely must have had this then – it would be a hard dish to miss out on. You should put his skills to work! 😉
What a lovely post Jess and so very true. Now if only I could get my man into the kitchen making laab. I know he can do it because we learned in Thailand on our honeymoon!
So true! I bet he’s got a whole menu of Thai food he can make now! Time to put him to work. 😉
Since it’s called “salad”, it totally counts as health food… right? (I’m going to totally pretend there isn’t a big ol’ fried egg sitting on top, even though that’s totally the reason I want to make this dish in the first place.) 🙂
Your posts always make me wish I could hop on a plane and visit Thailand, and this one is no exception. Guess I’ll just have to start saving up, and make some of this salad in the meantime.
Plan a trip to Thailand, Isabelle! Is your honeymoon booked? 😉 It always makes me smile at the enormous variety of dishes that are called “salads” in Thai. They’ve definitely expanded way beyond the lettuce variety that we classify in that way. It definitely means that it can be classified as health food, fried egg, white rice, and all.
Children?
:))))
Hahaha – don’t get any ideas, Barbara. (Note to self: edit all blog posts for subtext related to offspring before they reach the eyes of family members.)