Larb Laab Larp

[Blue Heron]

larb . I made larb for lunch today. It turned out really yummy and was just as easy to make as tommy promised it would be. I thought mine was far far better than the one I had in a Thai restaurant recently, too.

I made mine with ground pork, fresh lime juice, fish sauce, lemon grass, crushed red pepper flakes, chopped serrano chiles, thinly sliced chopped sweet onion, toasted basmatti rice (crushed), chopped cilantro & mint. All combined and topped on torn green leaf lettuce (actually I used the cilantro, mint and toasted rice as garnish on top, not mixed in). I thought the seasoning combo was perfect, very fresh and refreshing, but next time would add even more lime juice and fish sauce to it, so it's a little more juicy. I'd also like to see what adding kaffir lime leaves would do to it (I forgot to pick some up in Chinatown yesterday). I was surprised the recipe didn't call for any salt, thinking that the ground pork would really need it, but as I was eating it, I noticed it had plenty of flavor even without salt.

larb larb larb larb larb.....

Thanks tommy!

Edited November 25, 2002 by Blue Heron (log)

[snowangel]

Larb is also very good when eaten with sticky rice, which is a traditional accompaniment in northern Thailand (where the larb is usually raw pork). Come to think of it, the larb is probably an accompaniment for the rice there.

Thai salads -- be they the more well-known larb and som tam -- are absolutely wonderful. David Thompson's new Thai Food book has a fab section on salads.

[Jason Perlow]

at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas last week, I had their "Northern Style" beef larb which is a drier and spicier kind of larb than the "Isaan" style that we eat more commonly in the US. It uses no lime juice at all, but a LOT more chiles, and and lot of mint and cilantro, as well as a lot of other stuff that I cannot easily identify. It does taste quite different.

http://www.offbeattravel.com/siam.html

[snowangel]

at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas last week, I had their "Northern Style" beef larb which is a drier and spicier kind of larb than the "Isaan" style that we eat more commonly in the US. It uses no lime juice at all, but a LOT more chiles, and and lot of mint and cilantro, as well as a lot of other stuff that I cannot easily identify. It does taste quite different.

We often ate this style of larb in small towns in northern Thailand. Rather than being mixed with what most people traditionally associate with larb (lime juice, peppers, cilantro, mint, shallots, etc.), this one is actually prepared with a paste that is somewhat akin to curry paste.

[Schielke]

Larb a-hoy! I made the beef Larb recipe that Mamster posted earlier here:

Also, to my taste you can always improve a larb by adding thinly-sliced shallots rather than onion. Like most Thai salads, they key to great larb is seasoning it a lot--plenty of dressing, chiles, and rice powder. This is a really good larb neua recipe: http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/th...00/rec0054.html.

I used some shallots I had growing in a pot out back, they were pretty tiny but that is another story. The only rice I had to make the ground rice with was arborio. It turned out pretty tasty, the rice smelled kinda like peanut butter when it was being toasted. I ground the rice up in my little baby cuisinart and it scared the hell out of sophie and vinnie...they are still a little angry at me for scaring them.

I placed the cooked larb on a couple romaine lettuce leaves and dug right in. No time for pics since I was so hungry!!! I'll have to take some next time I make it since I will be making it again for sure!!! I think that my larb was a shade dry and could have used a touch more fish sauce and lime juice too. Overall though it was great and pretty simple to make, Katie loved it too. I think it will become a fairly common dish here. Thanks a bunch for the pro-larb stance that propelled me into home larb-making!

Ben

[snowangel]

The only rice I had to make the ground rice with was arborio.  It turned out pretty tasty, the rice smelled kinda like peanut butter when it was being toasted.

My friend Vipa, a Thai who I've known since I was about 7 (almost 40 years) is a wonderful cook, and she says it's not real larb unless you toast Kao neo (sticky rice, raw, not cooked). She also said that one must crush it in a mortar/pestal (or in a bowl with a glass) because the grinders "give it too much heat and make it too small."

[Blue Heron]

Ben, glad to hear your larb turned out yummy, too!

Alas, my cuisinart is too big to grind rice and my grinder smells like coffee powder, and I don't have a mortar/pestal (it's on my x-mas list), so believe it or not I had to resort to putting my toasted rice in a ziplock and use my hammer on it to get it to break up . After much hammering which also scared my cat, I finally had my ground rice.

Snowangel, thanks for the tips on the sweet rice. I even have some, but didn't think to use it. I will next time. (Sweet rice is the same as sticky rice, yes?). Also when you say you use raw pork, do you mean ground pork?

[snowangel]

Also when you say you use raw pork, do you mean ground pork?

When our Vipa used to make it for me as a child, she would get a hunk of pork (no idea what cut; we'd go to the market, and they'd cut a piece off a hanging skinless pig) without much fat, and take the cleaver to it. So, it was not really ground, but pretty close. But very little fat. Fat, was reserved for other thing.

[LaurieA-B]

Another good thing about using sticky rice for the powder is that you can cook some of the (unground) rice and serve it with the larb. Very yum.

What with Blue Heron and Schielke making larb (they both sound delicious, the larbs, that is), and Matthew who loves to make it too, I think we need to have a PacificNW larb party.

Yes, tommy, I know you're in.

[snowangel]

Don't forget that sticky rice is not only used ground in larb, but also cooked at a vehicle for this wonderful salad. The chances in Northern Thailand (or southern Thailand, for that matter) of serving romaine or any other lettuce we typically get, is not common. As I said earlier, I think the larb has traditionally been an accompaniment, not the primary. The other stuff flavors the rice -- the staple (sort of like butter or sour cream on a baked potato).

[mamster]

Ben, you can get a 5-pound bag of sticky rice for a couple of bucks in the I-district, and you should, because it rocks. Not exactly larb, but in the larb vein, there's a popular Thai sausage made with pork and lots of garlic and lime juice, and bulked up with cooked sticky rice. I've made it at home with ground pork and it's great. I think I turned it into an omelet once.

Does everybody know how to do Thai-style eggs? Beat the eggs, salt with fish sauce, add a little lime juice, and cook in oil. Great accompaniment to larb, or pretty much anything else.

[Schielke]

I will try to pick some up this weekend. I have to say that I am on a Larb kick. It is so damn tasty and easy to make! Katie and I had it again last night as a quick meal before we picked up around my place for the holiday.

Ill have to give that sausage a go sometime...how would it work in patty form? I dont have any good way to stuff em!

Also the Thai style eggs sound tasty too. I feel a thai cooking kick coming on.

Laab

Ben

[Priscilla]

I ground the rice up in my little baby cuisinart and it scared the hell out of sophie and vinnie...they are still a little angry at me for scaring them.

Scared the living daylights out of my poor cats grinding rice to clean out my spice grinder. They'd only just recovered from the spice-grinding racket of a minute before, and then whammo!

Rice is deceptively loud.

[snowangel]

Purchased at my Thai market today: Pretz Larb flavor Biscuit Sticks by Thai Glico, Inc.

They are very skinny, ingredients listed as wheat flour, margarine, sugar, spices salt.

They were somewhat hot and spicy, and had a definite taste, but not one that reminded of larb. The group consensus by Peter, Diana and I was that the after taste was nasty. The good news was that the package was only $.79.

So, we came home and are making larb.

[=Mark]

Purchased at my Thai market today:  Pretz Larb flavor Biscuit Sticks by Thai Glico, Inc.

oh dear. make larb.

larb.

Is this the same Glico that markets Pocky in Japan?

Pocky! Pockiy! Pocky! Larb!

[LaurieA-B]

Purchased at my Thai market today:  Pretz Larb flavor Biscuit Sticks by Thai Glico, Inc.

I picked up the Larb and the Tom Yam flavor in Taipei, but I don't think we actually ate either one.

We did, however, eat the entire can of Wild Consomme Pringles that we bought in Bangkok.

[Blue Heron]

 I think that my larb was a shade dry and could have used a touch more fish sauce and lime juice too.

I fogot to mention when I had larb leftovers the next day, since I didn't have anymore lime juice to make the dressing more juicy, I drizzled just a tiny bit of peanut oil over the larb and lettuce and the improvement was remarkable... no more dry larb salad.

I just posted this so I could say larb again.

larb larb larb

[Anna N]

I will now 'fess up and say that it is this "Larb" thread that finally convinced me to stop lurking and register as a member. I had never heard of the dish and certainly never eaten it but it just sounded so interesting that I had to have a go.

Can't say I was much impressed with my result - and that is always a problem if you don't know what you are aiming for then you don't really know how far you are off the mark!

Still I could see so much potential in the dish that I am determined to have another go - but not with chicken! I'm not a fan of ground chicken to begin with but it's what I had on hand in small enough quantity to make for one! (Actually, I ground it myself - a couple of boneless, skinless, thighs.)

But I did a bit of searching for Larb recipes and they seem to differ so very much! Maybe I will try to visit the library and get out a couple of Thai cookbooks and see if I can replicate another recipe.

Thanks to all of you for enticing me to try this dish and to join such an interesting group.

[mamster]

Hey, n.l.l., welcome. If you were drawn out by a larb thread, you are my kind of poster.

Try making a pork or beef larb; they're harder to dry out than chicken and have more flavor to start with. Then, when you're mixing the dressing, taste it and adjust as you go until you have something you like (the flavor will be very strong, though). Then put on more dressing and more rice powder than you think you need. There should be a puddle on the plate when you're done with the larb.

Ben, the traditional thing to do with the Northeastern Thai sausage is to stuff it into thin casings and make one-inch links, then deep-fry those. I've never stuffed sausage, though, so I just make patties and saute them in a pan with a little peanut oil. Maybe col klink and I can have a Thai sausage-making day and write it up. There are other Thai sausages, too--the one I described is just the easiest.

[Anna N]

Thanks, Mamster - I will certainly try again - probably with beef. I have to do stuff like this when there's just me to feed - when hubby is working late! But when the opportunity presents I will try again and report back.

[Miss J]

Okay, that's it. Tonight I make larb. With pork. And maybe some mung bean noodles.

Larb.

[tommy]

Okay, that's it. Tonight I make larb. With pork. And maybe some mung bean noodles.

Larb. 

first time miss j?

i can't stress enough that most recipes don't call for enough fish sauce/lime juice. right or wrong, most people like it a little more "wet". don't be afraid to make a mixture of fish sauce/lime juice/sugar to serve on the side. i find that people tend to spoon some on the finished product.

[mamster]

right or wrong, most people like it a little more "wet".

Right, I'd argue--most salads in Thailand are crazy overdressed by Western standards, probably because the dressing has no oil.

[=Mark]

right or wrong, most people like it a little more "wet".

Right, I'd argue--most salads in Thailand are crazy overdressed by Western standards, probably because the dressing has no oil.

Not to mention that you can then use your rice to soak it up!

[tommy]

made a dish inspired by yum nam sod tonite, which seems to be a happy little cousin of larb. my version was basically larb with the addition of a few peanuts and ginger slivers. quite satisifying, although the next time i would actually have *less* dressing and a lot more herb and heat. this dish, to me, should be very herbal and spicy.