Laab Moo is an iconic Northeastern Thai salad of ground pork mixed with toasted rice powder, fresh mint, cilantro, lime juice and chili flakes. It's bright, bold, spicy and ready in under 15 minutes, making it perfect for Thai food beginners.
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In a medium size pot, add the raw rice and the optional makrut lime leaf and put it over high or medium high heat. Stir it constantly until a the rice is toasted until deeply browned. If using the lime leaf, pick it out of the pan as soon as it becomes dry and crispy, which will likely happen before your rice is toasted. Remove the rice from the pot immediately to prevent it from over-toasting from the residual heat and let cool slightly. You can keep the toasted rice in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a month.
Transfer the rice and the lime leaf into either a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder. Grind into a powder, but it need not to be flour-fine, just a sand-like texture without any chunky pieces is fine. The lime leaf will grind along with the rice, but if using a mortar and pestle, you will be left with the center stem of the leaf which you can discard.
Add roughly a third of the fish sauce (2 teaspoons) into the pork and mash it with a fork to mix and get rid of the tube shapes ground meat often comes in.
In the same pot you used to toast the rice, add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Then add the ground pork and stir to break it up until it is fully cooked. Remove from the heat immediately, do not let it over cook.
Using the pot as your mixing bowl, while still hot, add the shallots and the julienned lime leaves (if using), stir to mix and wilt the shallots, breaking up the layers of the shallots as much as you can.
Add the remaining fish sauce, chili flakes, MSG, toasted rice powder, and the lime juice. Mix well, taste and adjust seasoning as desired, adding more chili flakes if you like it spicier.
Just before serving, add the delicate herbs: cilantro, green onion, mint, sawtooth coriander (if using). Tip: Before you add the herbs, if the pork is still quite hot, let it cool for a couple of minutes so the herbs don’t wilt as much.
Serve warm or room temp with sticky rice and fresh crunchy vegetables.
Laab keeps refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; reheat gently or serve at room temperature. Add fresh herbs after reheating.
mortar and pestle or coffee grinder (to grind toasted rice) · medium pot
Yes. Ground dark meat chicken is the best substitute; ground chicken breast, turkey, or beef also work, though pork is traditional.
Toasting the rice until deeply browned creates a unique nutty aroma and flavor. It's ground into a powder and acts as a thickener and flavor backbone for the salad.
The pork base can be cooked and cooled up to 4 hours ahead, but add fresh herbs (mint, cilantro, green onion) just before serving so they don't wilt.
MSG (monosodium glutamate) is optional and adds savory depth. Use ⅛–¼ teaspoon if desired; it's not required for authentic laab.
Start with 1 teaspoon chili flakes and taste, then add up to 2 teaspoons for more heat. Adjust to your preference before adding herbs.
