We are now in Autumn so it should be cooling down but I don’t think the weather in Sydney got the message – most days are still above 30 degrees C and the nights are still sticky without a cooling breeze. I wasn’t in the mood for a hot dinner and Stuart was going to be late from work, so I decided to make larb as you can make it ahead of time and eat it at room temperature. It would be great for a picnic too! The flavours are as simple or as complex as you want to make them, taste and adjust the balance between hot, salty, sour and sweet until you have got to a point where the salad is that good you are eating it straight from the bowl with the salad servers…
Ingredients
- 1 tbs vegetable oil
- 500g pork mince (or chicken)
- 1 tbs long grain rice
- handful green beans, sliced into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tbs fish sauce
- juice from 2 limes
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- 1/2 bunch mint, leaves picked
- 1/2 bunch thai basic, leaves picked
- 2 long red chillies, finely sliced (seeds removed if you like)
- iceberg lettuce to serve
- steamed rice to serve
Method
- Heat the wok over a high heat and toast the rice until until golden brown. Grind with a mortar and pestle into a fine powder.
- Heat the oil in the wok and brown the mince in the pan, breaking it up into small pieces as you go. Cook the mince until the liquid has almost evaporated, then add the green beans and cook until the beans are just cooked then set aside to cool.
- Add the fish sauce, lime juice, shallot, mint, thai basil and sliced chilli to the pan and stir through. Adjust the flavours to your liking. Add the ground rice and stir through.
- Serve at the table and create your own lettuce wraps with a spoonful of larb, bit of rice and extra chilli if you need it.
