January 9, 2021

Thai Larb Salad (keto option)

One of my favorite dishes from our trip to Thailand is larb salad and every time I make it, the smell brings me right back there. We arrived very late at night at the hotel after an almost 24-hr trip switching planes. The tiny hotel restaurant was still open and we ordered more than we could eat; our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, jetlagged and half-awake. On arrival, the mound of ground meat stuffed with herbs appeared inoffensive, ordinary. I took my first bite and my head exploded with flavor: sweet, salty, acidic, spicy all sparked in my mouth and left me hungry for more.

Thai Larb Salad

Serving Size:

Time:

45 min

Difficulty:

easy

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork (I use the Walden meat delivery service, excellent quality)
1 tablespoon rice
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
2 lemongrass stalks (trimmed and smashed with the side of the knife)
1 shallot
4 tablespoons of fish sauce (or more, if desired for taste)
2 red Thai chilies
2 limes
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons of sugar (for the keto version, replace with monkfruit)
Cilantro
Mint
Thai basil (I only had regular basil)
Salt & pepper
1 head of Boston lettuce

Directions

In a dry, heated pan, add the rice and toast until golden brown; it should take about 6-8 min. Keep it moving in the pan so it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat, let cool and then put it in a spice grinder, give it a few turns; you want a fine powder.
In a heated pan add the vegetable oil, the lemongrass stalks, the minced garlic and the 2 tablespoons of sugar (or monkfruit, if you want the keto version). Sauté for a few minutes over medium heat until the garlic is golden.
Add the ground pork and stir, breaking up the pork into small pieces. Keep breaking it up and stirring it until no longer pink (even a little brown here and there). Add 2 tablespoon of fish sauce, salt and pepper.
Add the chopped herbs, the sliced shallot, the scallion and one chopped chili pepper. Mix and turn heat off.

Sauce:

mix in a bowl the juice of the limes, the 2 remaining tablespoons of fish sauce, the last chopped chili, one tablespoon of sugar (or monkfruit) and 2-3 tablespoon of water. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

To serve, place a good spoonful of larb into a lettuce cup. I used Boston lettuce but you can substitute with iceberg, if that’s available. Sprinkle with the rice powder, drizzle the sauce on top and happy eating!!