Larb Laab Larp

[snowangel]

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.

And also because typically (at least in Northern Thailand, where larp is very common), it is eaten with sticky rice, which does a nice job of soaking up all of that wetness.

[Blue Heron]

My Thai friend made me larb as part of our Christmas Eve dinner. It was the best larb yet! She made hers with ground pork, and started by sauteeing it in about 1/4 c. chicken broth (no oil). When cooked (a few minutes) she then added her thinly sliced shallots, ground toasted rice, ground thai red chili pepper, chopped green onion, fish sauce & fresh squeezed lemon juice, and cooked for another minute or so, also adding a bit more chicken broth to make it nice and juicy, and topped with cilantro at the end. She served it with whole small romaine leaves, thin sliced cabbage wedges and room temp steamed long beans (traditional in Thailand). So I learned that if my larb is too dry (which happened before), I can add a little more chicken broth which I don't think I used any chix broth when I made it before... and that no oil is needed at all. And that lemon juice works great in place of lime juice.

Anybody else had larb again lately?

[Anna N]

Anybody else had larb again lately?

Thanks for the reminder - I promised myself and the board that I would make another attempt at Laab using pork rather then chicken - must see if I can schedule a lunch date with myself and my kitchen in the next few days!

And so I did it today. I'd be reluctant to call it Laab - let's say a thai-style pork salad since I mucked it about rather a lot. Hard to get ingredients here and a phone call distracted me and I forgot the ground rice and the shallots! Still I had a delicious lunch.

I used the mini-processor to chop the pork and poached the pork with a minced clove of garlic, a tablespoon of fresh ginger (ground) and a tbs or so of fresh jalapeno (minced) in home made chicken stock, then I added just one tablespoon each of lime juice and fish sauce and the chopped green onions - forgot the shallots - must turn off that phone! I used half the zest of a lemon (no lemongrass). I tasted it and added about a teaspoon of Sriracha sauce. I served it on a bed of shredded romaine and topped it with some chopped fresh mint. I missed the crunchiness of the rice and I certainly wish I had added the shallots (I thought I had my mise en place in place - WRONG).

Next time I will double the lime juice and the fish sauce (I'm a bit of scaredy cat with new tastes) try to remember the rice and shallots and report back.

Despite all the errors, omissions and substitutions, this was a very, very tasty salad and far superior to my first attempt. If I wasn't already full from eating this preparation, I would start again and try to get it right.

I think this is just a great thread. Without it I wouldn't have attempted anything like this and would have missed out on a new experience. Thanks all of you.

[Anna N]

So I had to try it again! This time my mise en place was all in place - no missing ingredients and it is so gooooooooood! I think I could taste every single ingredient in it - and I can't say that about many things I cook. Only substitution I was forced to make was lemon zest for lemongrass - lemongrass is available here but not without a bit of travel and my car lingers in the garage hoping for a quick diagnosis. I admit to reducing the chilies considerably and I'm glad I did - not yet acclimatized to Thai spices in huge quantities. Thanks, this will be a permanent part of my repertoire.

[Varmint]

Will be making larb gai on Saturday as part of a Thai feast. Haven't figured out the rest of the dishes, but we'll do them all family style, served at the same time per David Thompson's recommendations (except for dessert, of course).

[Ladybug]

I made Larb for the first time last week - and I've got to say, I just can't get past that fish sauce. I only used a couple of tablespoons and the stench of it nearly knocked me off my feet. I thought I had just ruined dinner. Fortunately, the fish sauce blended in/cooked out somewhat, so the dish was edible - but I won't be making anything again with fish sauce. I could taste fish sauce all evening. Gah!

[Jinmyo]

Ladybug, your reaction is not only understandable but the only one a sane person would have.

Nevertheless, I implore you to give it several more goes before swearing off the stuff. It's rank odour dissipates quite quickly and enfuses such wonderful flavours...I'd hate for you to miss out on these.

Please?

[torakris]

Ladybug,

I had the same reaction the first time I ever had fish sauce, I even threw the bottle away because I knew I would never touch it again.

The first time was in a soup where it didn't have a very strong presence but it was all I could taste, it actually took about 3 or 4 more times before I could get past the smell/taste and know I love it and splash it all over the place.

NOT my body however!

[Varmint]

Made larb gai as one of 6 Thai dishes on Saturday. Of the 14 diners, only one person other than myself had experience larb previously. The larb was the first dish to be depleted, and I started with a lot of chicken (equal amounts of breast and thigh, no offal, all minced by hand). The mincing by hand made for a much lighter texture than any ground stuff I've had.

Just to piss off Tommy, I also made a Thai tuna ceviche (thanks, Mamster), shrimp and coconut soup, spicy catfish with eggplant, red curry with sirloin and cashew, and stir fried asparagus & asian green beans. I had also planned on making coconut stick rice served with mango and ginger ice cream, but I got distracted while playing with the L'il Varmints and ended up making curdled ginger cream. Good flavor, disgusting texture.

But to get back on track, the larb was excellent.

[eat2much]

Wondering what all the fuss was about, I made larb for the first time tonight. All I can say is a profound thanks to the egullet community for opening my eyes.

Long live larb!!

[=Mark]

As a result of the Thai Cooking with David Thompson thread I got an uncontrollable yearning for Larb. As a result I packed it over to Mie Thai to quell the urge. Imagine my horror when after scanning the menu there was no Larb on it!

Asking the server He confirmed that Larb was not on the lunch menu...

Observing my quivering lower lip and the fact that I was obviously about to burst into tears he said he'd check with the kitchen. (Tense moments go by...)

Yaaay! They agreed to make me Larb!

Since it was a cold day I decided to start with a bowl of Tom Ka Gai, Chicken soup with cocanut milk, lemongrass, cilantro, green onion, straw mushrooms, lime juice and LOTS of chiles!

Then, the Main Event! Larb!

Afterwards I decided to take the scenic route home on Rt. 36 along the Bayshore of Raritan bay south of New York Harbor. Since I had my camera and would be driving within a block of it I figured I'd shoot a picture of the Quick Stop mini mart featured in most of Kevin Smith's movies... (Hey, at least it's food related!)

All in all a fulfilling afternoon!

Edited March 4, 2003 by =Mark (log)

[torakris]

I think it is time for laab again!

Snowangel,

I once tried it with regular tofu and was very disappointed.

For the tuna, I am assuming raw?

[Anna N]

OK so you've all done it again! Had to have laab today - used leftover rib steak cooked very rare. Loved the laab but made it way too spicy and thought I'd never recover. But what a way to get yet another good meal from a steak.

[snowangel]

For the tuna, I am assuming raw?

Yes, and it was wonderful.

[torakris]

Made it last night

Thai Food version

Excellent

[Stone]

=mark, i'm not a big fan of gratuitous garnish. i could do without the 'maters, purple stu, and carrot. 

=Mark, that's the most gorgeous picture of larb I've ever seen! I think the garnishes really brighten up the dish. I can't imagine they would hurt.

Time for more laaarrrbbbb....

I'm sure it was delicious, but I concur with Tommy. Most of the larb I've had is just meat and flavorings.

[Lyle]

The larb I had today was served with very finely shredded cabbage and carrot. I do prefer the lettuice. Are these cabbage and carrots a trend in restaurants to differentiate themselves from the pack (I have never had it served with anything other than lettuice...and a garnish) or has it always been sort of a grab bag of condiment?

[Blue Heron]

I ordered take-out Larb from my neighborhood Thai place last night.

So far, every larb I've tasted has been slightly different. The one last night had a most excellent combination of flavors, but also included a slight taste of sweetness which I had never tasted before, in conjuncton with the lime juice, fish sauce, green onion, red onion, red chile flakes, & chopped chicken flavor. And it was verrry juicy, just the way I like it, and served on lettuce. No garnish. I don't think it even had ground toasted rice, but it sure was good. I ate the left overs for lunch today.

tommy... our master of larb... do you like sweetness, or have you ever tasted a combination including sweetness as a component of your larb?

[tommy]

tommy... our master of larb... do you like sweetness, or have you ever tasted a combination including sweetness as a component of your larb?

a don't recall ever picking up an aggressive element of sweetness in larb. however, i do make mine with a pinch of sugar. for me, it's all about the heat and the acidity. but not so much the humidity.

[Blue Heron]

tommy... our master of larb... do you like sweetness, or have you ever tasted a combination including sweetness as a component of your larb?

a don't recall ever picking up an aggressive element of sweetness in larb. however, i do make mine with a pinch of sugar. for me, it's all about the heat and the acidity. but not so much the humidity.

As I was eating it, I kept thinking of that cookbook Hot Sour Salty Sweet, and this larb I had last night had all of that. I could pick out each component, although they melded together well, and it was nice. But I had just never identified the sweet before when eating it. I remember the first one I had that was on the sour (or maybe bitter) side, which would have been improved with a pinch of sugar, I think.

It's all about balancing the flavors.

[snowangel]

I roll over in bed this morning. It is still dark. I squint at the clock -- 5:45 am. I hear noise. No one should be up in my house at that hour. I grab my robe, and come out into the kitchen. The lights are on, and Diana is cooking. Making larb. "Mom, I just have to have larb for my school lunch today." I'm having larb for lunch today, too.

[torakris]

made something last night that was bettter than laab! (hope this doesn't get me kicked out of this thread )

I guess you could call it salmon laab if you really wanted to, basically the same ingredients (chillies, shallots, nampla, lime, sugar, coriander, mint) it is sprinkled with roasted peanuts instead of roasted rice.

A piece of salmon is marinated in soy sauce, left to dry on a rack, then seared until rare and flaked into the salad with salmon roe (ikura).

Check out he dinner thread for more info!

[tommy]

made something last night that was  bettter than laab! (hope this doesn't get me kicked out of this thread )

I guess you could call it salmon laab if you really wanted to, basically the same ingredients (chillies, shallots, nampla, lime, sugar, coriander, mint) it is sprinkled with roasted peanuts instead of roasted rice.

A piece of salmon is marinated in soy sauce, left to dry on a rack, then seared until rare and flaked into the salad with salmon roe (ikura).

Check out he dinner thread for more info!

you're dismissed.

but actually, that's not much unlike another larb-like dish. i forget the name. but i think it's on the thread somewhere. as i recall, jason perlow had it and posted, and i turned out that i happened upon it the same day.

anything larb-like is good (and that includes yum woon sen, my second favorite dish).

[torakris]

made something last night that was  bettter than laab! (hope this doesn't get me kicked out of this thread )

I guess you could call it salmon laab if you really wanted to, basically the same ingredients (chillies, shallots, nampla, lime, sugar, coriander, mint) it is sprinkled with roasted peanuts instead of roasted rice.

A piece of salmon is marinated in soy sauce, left to dry on a rack, then seared until rare and flaked into the salad with salmon roe (ikura).

Check out he dinner thread for more info!

you're dismissed.

but actually, that's not much unlike another larb-like dish. i forget the name. but i think it's on the thread somewhere. as i recall, jason perlow had it and posted, and i turned out that i happened upon it the same day.

anything larb-like is good (and that includes yum woon sen, my second favorite dish).

I was quite worried I may have lost my goods standing among the followers of the laab thread!

Please elaborate for the unknowing, what is yum woon sen?

[SobaAddict70]

I was wondering -- would fruit (no not lime juice, I mean actual diced fruit or brunoised fruit) enhance larb? I mean, certain types of fruit and pork go very well together.

Just a thought.

Not sure when I'll be able to resume a normal life. Work this week is totally consuming me.

Soba