Pork Larb (Larb Moo): Chotika’s Isan-Style Minced Pork Salad

Pork Larb (Larb Moo): A Thai Minced Pork Salad for One

This pork larb recipe (larb moo) is a vibrant, fresh Thai salad that balances sour, salty, savoury and spicy in a single bowl. Minced pork is cooked quickly, dressed while it is still warm with lime juice, fish sauce and chilli, then tossed with shallot, spring onion, mint and coriander. A teaspoon of toasted rice powder adds a nutty aroma and a little texture, and crisp lettuce leaves do the work of a fork.

This is my version, scaled for one and made at Casa Adora. It comes from Chotika, who made it when I visited my brother at Wolstenholme Fold, the same spot where I first made my Wolstenholme Fold Sauce, before she returned to Thailand.

Pork Larb Recipe: Ingredients

Serves 1. Prep: 10 minutes. Cook: 10–12 minutes.

For the toasted rice powder (khao khua)

• 1 tbsp raw glutinous rice (sticky rice) or jasmine rice (makes extra; stores well)

For the salad

• 150 g pork mince (ground pork)
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp lime juice (approx. half a juicy lime)
• ¾ tbsp fish sauce
• ½ to 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (adjust to taste)
• ½ tsp caster sugar
• 1 small shallot, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• 1 small handful fresh mint leaves, roughly torn
• 1 small handful fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

To serve

• Crisp lettuce leaves (such as little gem or iceberg)
• Warm jasmine rice or sticky rice

How to Make This Pork Larb Recipe (Larb Moo)

1. Make the toasted rice powder: Place the raw rice in a dry frying pan or wok over a medium-low heat. Toast the grains, shaking the pan frequently, for 5 to 7 minutes until they turn a deep golden-brown and smell nutty. Tip into a pestle and mortar (or a clean spice grinder) and grind into a coarse, gritty powder. Set aside.
2. Cook the pork mince: Wipe out the pan and return it to a medium-high heat. Add the pork mince and 2 tablespoons of water. Cook, breaking the meat up into very fine crumbles with a wooden spoon, for 3 to 4 minutes until completely cooked through and no pink remains. Do not drain the cooking juices; they form the base of the dressing. Take the pan off the heat.
3. Dress the pork: While the pork is still warm but off the heat, add the fish sauce, lime juice, chilli flakes and sugar straight into the pan. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and coat the meat. Taste it: it should be sharply sour, salty and spicy. Add a splash more lime or fish sauce if needed.
4. Add the herbs: Toss in the sliced shallot, spring onion, torn mint, chopped coriander and 1 teaspoon of the toasted rice powder. Stir gently so the herbs wilt slightly in the residual heat but stay vibrant green.
5. Serve: Spoon the warm larb onto a plate alongside the lettuce leaves, which you use to scoop up the meat, and serve straight away with hot rice.

Notes on the Toasted Rice Powder and the Sugar

Only 1 teaspoon of the toasted rice powder goes into a single portion, so the tablespoon of rice makes extra. Keep the rest in a jar and use it on the next larb.

Everything for this pork larb recipe was already in the Casa Adora larder except caster sugar. I don’t take sugar in tea or coffee, so I picked up a sachet of white sugar when I went to the bar for breakfast and ground it in my pestle and mortar. It stood in for the half teaspoon of caster sugar the dressing needs. The sugar isn’t there to make the larb sweet; it rounds out the lime and the fish sauce.

From Thailand — Chotika

Chotika is family. She lives in Thailand and cooks the food she grew up around: regional dishes, handed down informally, the way most good recipes travel. I have adapted this one for the Casa Adora larder and written it up in my own voice.

Gaeng Hang Le — Thai Pork Belly Curry with Burmese Spices — a Northern Thai pork belly curry with deep Burmese roots. Dark, slow-cooked, built from scratch. The oil rising to the surface tells you when it’s ready.

If you’ve enjoyed this pork larb recipe, you can buy me a coffee ☕ — it helps keep the site going.

Footnote

This pork larb recipe is featured in my Pork Recipes hub and From the Family Kitchen. If you cook with mince, you'll find more in my mince recipes.
Find more recipes and food adventures here.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef