Larb Laab Larp

[lovebenton0]

I have often had larb in Thai restaurants, and after reading this thread I took the plunge and made some for myself the other day.

It may not be strictly the traditional larb, but it was delicious all the same. It goes down a treat in our hot and tropical climate.

Didn't have galangal, so I used fresh ginger.

Didn't have kaffir lime leaves, so I used some local (tender) lime leaves from the garden.

Didn't have Thai basil, so I used my italian basil.

Bird chilies, no problem - got loads growing.

Ah yes, instead of chicken/pork/beef, I used flaked smoked mackerel, which I had just smoked in my smoker.

Great result!

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Larb on!

Snowangel taught me that when I can't get the Keffir lime leaves the zest of a lime stands up deliciously as a sub. Just in case you don't have any tenders at the moment.

BTW, just curiousity, as obviously you larbed on tastily as you said . . . What kind of lime tree? And could you smell/taste the lime leaves appreciably enough to be aware of them in the larb?

[maremosso]

Yes, I could. Taste the lime in the leaves, I mean.

Lovebenton0, I have several lime trees in the garden, all bearing different kinds of limes, and at this time of year they are full of young shoots with pale tender leaves.

One of these trees has unusual leaves, sort of double in shape - it might well be a Thai lime, but I wouldn't know for sure.

Substituting lemon or lime peel sounds like a very good tip, thanks!

[snowangel]

One of these trees has unusual leaves, sort  of double in shape - it might well be a Thai lime, but I wouldn't know for  sure.

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Sounds like a kaffir lime tree to me!

[lovebenton0]

One of these trees has unusual leaves, sort  of double in shape - it might well be a Thai lime, but I wouldn't know for  sure.

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Sounds like a kaffir lime tree to me!

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Me too! You can go to this link that chrisamirault posted for a look at his Kaffir lime tree. the leaves are pretty visible at the top of the little tree, and good double leaf conformation can be seen in the shadow image also.

[maremosso]

Yep, that's exactly what my tree looks like - about 10 times as tall though!

[Chris Amirault]

Yep, that's exactly what my tree looks like - about 10 times as tall though!

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Hmmmmm.... I have tree-ness envy....

[Susan in FL]

I made larb for the second time tonight. I larbed chicken thigh meat and it was good, but not as good as my first time which was pork.

What I liked was that when I sent my husband to the store for Kaffir lime leaves (the last time I made it, I substituted lime zest), the lady at the Asian market was out of her supply, and just picked some off her own tree and gave them to him!

He also bought some fresh galangal while he was there, and I added a bit of that. Does anybody have any suggestions on how else to use that up?

One more question.... What kind of rice do you use for sticky rice? Is it labeled as sticky rice, or does that refer only to the way you cook it? Tonight was the first time I ever soaked and steamed rice. I read about sticky rice in my Hot Sour Salty Sweet, but I was overwhelmed.

Thanks to all you larb veterans.

[snowangel]

I made larb for the second time tonight.  I larbed chicken thigh meat and it was good, but not as good as my first time which was pork.

What I liked was that when I sent my husband to the store for Kaffir lime leaves (the last time I made it, I substituted lime zest), the lady at the Asian market was out of her supply, and just picked some off her own tree and gave them to him!

He also bought some fresh galangal while he was there, and I added a bit of that.  Does anybody have any suggestions on how else to use that up?

One more question....  What kind of rice do you use for sticky rice?  Is it labeled as sticky rice, or does that refer only to the way you cook it?  Tonight was the first time I ever soaked and steamed rice.  I read about sticky rice in my Hot Sour Salty Sweet, but I was overwhelmed.

Thanks to all you larb veterans. 

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I love that someone picked leaves off their tree for you. Everyone needs a kaffir lime tree. Mine does fine in Minnesota. In the sun room in the winter, outdoors in the spring, summer and fall.

My sticky rice bag calls it "sweet rice." The grains are shorter and fatter than the regular jasmine rice I use. They also seem "whiter." Yes, Susan, it is a different kind of rice. There are many kinds of rice.

The fresh galangal. I'd freeze it and grate it as needed. But, further thoughts make me wonder whether it acts like regular ginger when planted. You can take a hunk of regular ginger and stick it in a pot and it will grow. Not sure about galangal.

[lovebenton0]

Made beef larb for lunch. With rice. Lots of lettuce. Used the last fresh Thai bird I picked off the plants for topping with cilantro.

[snowangel]

I needed larb this morning. SO, while Heidi and I were waiting for her bus, we made larb (actually, I made larb, she watched some squarepants show). Wednesdays are my days to volunteer from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm at Peter's school. I have lunch with his kids in the cafeteria every Wednesday. Perusing the menu for today, I realized that today's lunch (some sort of maple flavored corn dog things or school pizza) didn't turn my crank. The salad they offered didn't, either. So, it was larb at school lunch. I took plenty so kids who wanted to taste it could. I toned it down, heat wise, and took some extra crushed dried red pepper (for me).

Peter is so-so on larb. Liking it more all of the time. Guess what? My favorite kids in the class thought it tasted sort of neat. They were excited to be able to go home and tell their parents that they had eaten something that their parents had probably never heard of.

New mission? Convert kids to larb addicts.

[little ms foodie]

I heard a rumor that if you didn't larb you would get banned from eG.....

.......I love eG........so we .........

......LARBED!!! Fist time larbers, long time readers!

boneless pork butt ribs with a few substitutions (we didn't have lime leaves or galangle... lime zest and ground ginger stood in.) YUM! had it with ginger-ini cocktails and then Columbia Reisling. this stuff is spicy!!!! we are babies, loved it but will reduce the chili peppers next time.

Edited December 18, 2004 by little ms foodie (log)

[snowangel]

I heard a rumor that if you didn't larb you would get banned from eG.....

.......I love eG........so  we .........

......LARBED!!! Fist time larbers, long time readers! 

boneless pork butt ribs with a few substitutions (we didn't have lime leaves or galangle... lime zest and ground ginger stood in.) YUM! had it with ginger-ini cocktails and then Columbia Reisling. this stuff is spicy!!!! we are babies, loved it but will reduce the chili peppers next time.

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Love to hear about folks losing their larbginity. Do try and source out galangal and lime leaves, however.

Tomorrow, I will larb for a crowd. 2 lbs. of ground fairly lean pork butt (custom ground by my local butcher). One thing I find is that, although I have made a lot of larb, when I take these two pounds, I will not make two pounds of larb in one batch. Two or three batches. It's one of those things, that at least for me, does not double or triple easily. But, that's OK. I have slave labor (kids) at my beck and call.

[snowangel]

I have just made larb. 3 pounds of ground pork worth. Were my camera charged up, I would post a photo of this beautiful mound.

[snowangel]

I made larb again yesterday. Leftovers make a great breakfast.

So, I'm supposed to bring swedish meatballs to Xmas Eve dinner. Do you suppose they'd notice if I substituted Larb Balls?

[reesek]

lmf you can definitely get both galangal and lime leaves at uwajimaya. i freeze the leaves i don't use. i use fresh galangal (because we can) but they'd also have dried. galangal is much lemonier and herbal tasting than ginger.

larb (meat) balls sound splendid. one of my favorite thai dishes is tod man pla (fried fish cakes)

i think larb "cakes" in a similar fashion would be fabulous...assuming you weren't using leftovers. mmm, crispy and larby!

[Chris Amirault]

So, I'm supposed to bring swedish meatballs to Xmas Eve dinner.  Do you suppose they'd notice if I substituted Larb Balls? 

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Seems that the trick there is trying to come up with a suitably grey sauce under which you can hide the little buggers....

[tanabutler]

Guess what? I've never made larb laab larp, never eaten it, and I've seen exactly ONE single episode of Seinfeld.

Vote me off the island now, or tell me what I'm missing. (Not about Seinfeld. Mean-spirited. Not interested.)

Would someone (who considers me a friend) care to define this food item for me? In a friendly way?

[lovebenton0]

Guess what? I've never made larb laab larp, never eaten it, and I've seen exactly ONE single episode of Seinfeld.

Vote me off the island now, or tell me what I'm missing. (Not about Seinfeld. Mean-spirited. Not interested.)

Would someone (who considers me a friend) care to define this food item for me? In a friendly way?

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Thai salad for when you really want to eat meat, tana.

Hot!/salty/sour/rarest of meat barely heated to cook in stock and herbs, served with lots of lettuce, we always serve with some kind of rice (DH is a rice addict anyway! ). Limey with kaffir leaves and lime juice, galangal good, fish sauce, garlic and shallots. Thai chilis (dried and fresh), more than you thought you could pssibly eat all in one dish! Sweet bite of fresh basil, or cilantro, or mint to top it off.

What's not to love, my dear.

[snowangel]

We head to New Ulm, MN for New Year's Eve. I have been instructed that my task is to give larb-making lessons.

Larb converts. Gotta love them.

[johnnyd]

Nineteen pages of Laab and Tanabutler has never tried it...

For shame....

Tommy? Some disciplinary measures are required here!

[little ms foodie]

I have purchased both the kafir leaves and galangle today! Larb is in our future for this weekend.

Tana, It is the most interesting spicy, limely, tart, tangy taste. We rolled it up in the lettuce leaves and had it like 'tacos'. Fantastic, fun and easy to do, a quick barely cook meal that is very hands on. Try it!!

[little ms foodie]

all ingrediants accounted for, bring on the inspecters!

This larb done with chicken thighs.

We love Larb!!

[Dana]

Thanks for taking one for the rest of us Larb virgins. I'm tracking down the galgangle and Kaffir lime leaves this week.

[snowangel]

all ingrediants accounted for, bring on the inspecters! 

This larb done with chicken thighs.

We love Larb!!

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My chest is puffed up with pride!

I gave larb lessons to several on New Year's Eve at our party.

[Chris Amirault]

all ingrediants accounted for, bring on the inspecters! 

This larb done with chicken thighs.

We love Larb!!

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Looks good to me, little ms foodie. You've clearly passed muster -- particularly given that Agency Director snowangel approves. Congratulations!

In accordance with our ELMO policy, I will make an honorary batch of larb and sticky rice tonight. (Wish I had a bottle of that Erath gewurztraminer handy!)

Of course, now you have the larb monkey on your back -- but it's a damned sight easier to prepare than that cassoulet, eh?