Ingredients
400 grams Pork mince
150g Pork liver
3 Limes
3 Tbsp. White glutinous rice
4 bulbs Red Shallots
4 Green Shallots
½ bunch Mint
1 bunch Coriander leaves
2 Tbsp. Palm sugar
2 Tbsp. Fish sauce
½ Tbsp. Ground chilli flakes
method
1. Toast raw white glutinous rice in fry pan until nicely browned. Then grind using a mortar and pestle until it resembles coarse sand
2. peel and thinly slice red shallots. Finely chop green shallots
3. Roughly chop coriander leaves. Pick the leaves from the mint and roughly chop if large in size.
4. If using a block of palm sugar use your knife to thinly slice off about a tablespoon.
5. Prior to squeezing your limes first cut the cheeks off the limes and then squeeze out the juice. This is how Thai cooks do it and you will find that you get more juice this way. Also roll the limes under the palm of your hand prior to cutting. This will help to break down the fibres in the lime and help when you juice it. For now just roll and cut
6. Place your liver if using in water and bring to a boil before reducing to barely a simmer for around ten minutes. As with any kind of meats cooked in water the gentler the cooking the more tender will be your result. Once cooked slice thinly across the grain ready to add to you mince.
7. Add the minced pork to a saucepan with a little (maybe ½㎝) depth of water in a wok or saucepan and cook stirrer until cooked and completely discoloured. As soon as this occurs stir in the liver and cook for another minute or two before turning off the heat. If the cooking vessel is large enough the entire dish can be made in the pot or wok
8. Immediately add in the red and green shallots and and stir to incorporate. If your cooking pot is not large enough to do the mixing then transfer to a bowl.
9. fold in the palm sugar , fish sauce, chilli flakes and ground rice. The ground rice should help to thicken the dish to some extent.
10. Fold in the coriander and mint leaves and serve with sticky rice and sliced cucumber
Notes : The ground rice powder can be purchased at Thai grocery shops. Also of note is that the balance of flavours for this dish is very much to ones own taste. If you like your food spicy add more chilli powder, if not a fan of onions leave them out or reduce. The amount of lime juice can also be misleading. I like my laab to be spicy and sour so add more lime juice than some people, the choice as you will find in many Thai dishes is yours. Taste, add, taste again. When you like the flavour put it on a plate and enjoy.
I hope you have enjoyed this recipe, if so leave a comment below and look out for more food related content in the weeks ahead. As always happy eating!!!
