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The first thing you need to know about laab, sometimes spelled larb, is how to say it. “It’s pronounced laab, like you’re saying ‘ahhh!’ at the dentist’s office,” said chef Arnold Myint, co-owner of International Market in Nashville and author, along with Kat Thompson, of the cookbook “Family Thai.” Thanks to that evocative description, I’ll never pronounce it incorrectly again.
This column comes from the Eat Voraciously newsletter. Sign up here to get one weeknight dinner recipe, tips for substitutions, techniques and more in your inbox Monday through Thursday.
The first thing you need to know about laab, sometimes spelled larb, is how to say it. “It’s pronounced laab, like you’re saying ‘ahhh!’ at the dentist’s office,” said chef Arnold Myint, co-owner of International Market in Nashville and author, along with Kat Thompson, of the cookbook “Family Thai.” Thanks to that evocative description, I’ll never pronounce it incorrectly again.
Get the recipe: Laab Moo (Pork Laab)
The second thing you need to know about laab is that it’s considered one of four main categories of salad in Thai cuisine.
The last thing you need to know about laab is that it generally doesn’t involve a ton of ingredients or take much time to put together — just 30 minutes in this case. Despite that, it’s a dish that tastes like so much more than the sum of its parts.
In this pork laab recipe, inspired by Myint’s takes on laab, you’ll start by making khao khua, or toasted rice powder. “This is the main component of laab that sets it apart,” Myint, a 2024 James Beard Foundation semifinalist for best chef: Southeast and former “Top Chef” competitor, said. “It’s part of its identity and flavor profile.”
To make it, you’ll simply toast raw rice in a skillet on the stovetop until it browns, then grind it into a fine powder with a mortar and pestle or dedicated spice grinder. Myint calls for sticky or jasmine rice in his recipe, but any uncooked white rice grains will work. You can also buy khao khua at Asian markets, but it’s so easy and fast to make at home. “It’s a fun technique that contributes flavor and texture, nuttiness and smokiness,” Myint said. “It makes a textural difference when it hits the dressing and re-expands.”
I hadn’t noticed this transformation when I ate laab at Thai restaurants, but it was apparent when I made it at home. The toasted rice powder actually changes each bite of the salad. First, it’s crunchy, but over the next few minutes it binds with the liquid and fat in the dish, softens, and thickens the sauce.
Traditional laab moo recipes call for poaching ground or minced pork before mixing it with the pungent dressing. But I loved how in “Family Thai” Myint turned his laab into meatballs, called laab tod. “Frying laab … adds a new and crunchy dimension,” he wrote. So, in this variation, you’ll pan-sear the pork, allowing it to brown and turn a bit crisp before cooking it through.
While that’s happening, stir together a dressing of lime juice, fresh herbs, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, shallot, lemongrass and Thai chile. While lemongrass isn’t a classic element in laab, Myint included it in both of the laab recipes in his book, the aforementioned laab tod and a vegetarian mushroom laab.
“It’s a flourish of mine,” he said. “It’s not traditional. It’s something I started to add to cut the gaminess of the meat a little,” Myint, who moonlights as drag queen Suzy Wong, said. “Lemongrass has that citrus element in it, and we’re celebrating that essence in laab. When you bite into a bit of lemongrass it’s not bitter, it’s a little floral, it kind of mists in your mouth, the scent and flavor opening up like a pheromone.”
I was sold.
Myint’s recipes rely on some of his own sauces, seasonings and pickles. These are well worth making if you buy the cookbook — and may even become your own pantry staples — but for this recipe, an introduction to laab, I skipped the extras so you could make and taste laab as soon as possible.
Just before serving, with crunchy cabbage leaves and the toasted rice powder, stir the dressing into the still-warm pork. As you take a bite, close your eyes to best appreciate the way the flavors dance around your taste buds, the way the smells creep into your nostrils, the way the textures change as you chew each mouthful.
Laab will always be one of my favorite dishes. Once you’ve tasted it, it’s easy to see why. There’s a lot to love about laab.
Get the recipe: Laab Moo (Pork Laab)
The post This tangy, spicy Thai salad is a sensational weeknight dish
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