Pork Larb

Anecdote

Any enjoyment of this dish must be attributed to my long-suffering friend Harry. In times of uni/exam/life stress, he was always on hand to ensure that I had a meal in me. From making dumplings with my other long-suffering friend Julia to cooking chicken so succulent and suspiciously tender the night before an exam, he was there for it all - possessing the unique ability to both calm and conjure my anxiety. What I call the Harry special.

This pork larb is important though. On paper, I was initially so resistant to the combination of mint and pork. It just fundamentally baffled me. But something about the mix of umami from the fish sauce, the added sweetness and the citrus with fresh herbs just makes this dish undeniably good.

When Harry made it the first time, I made my grumblings (with hindsight, undeserved grumblings). Cut to 24 hours later, we were crouched over this one Tupperware, fighting over leftovers.

Remember folks, never bite the hand that feeds you.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 2 finely chopped garlic

• 1 thumb of finely chopped ginger

• 1 400g pack of 20% pork mince - you want the fattier one, trust me. Otherwise you'll make dry ass larb/fattier mince is also cheaper

• 2 thinly sliced shallots (shallots are sweeter and preferred, though white/red onion is also doable)

• A good glug of vegetable oil

• 1/2 tsp sugar - adjust to your taste

• 1 tbsp fish sauce

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

• Juice of 1 lime

• 1 red chilli (sliced) or a good sprinkle of chilli flakes

• Large handful of chopped coriander with stalks

• Handful of chopped mint

• 3 chopped spring onions

• 1 lemongrass stalk finely chopped/ chopped thai basil (both optional, I prefer the adding a bit of lemongrass - it's also easier to find in supermarkets and can be frozen)

Note that I have adapted it to my taste by adding chopped garlic and ginger and soy sauce. This is what i'm used to from Chinese cooking and old habits die hard. Apologies if it's not authentic...it still tastes damn good I promise.

The more authentic version (see the Woks of Life's recipe) also calls for sprinkles of ground-up toasted rice but I've always been too hungry when making this dish to have time for that.

Recipe

1. Heat a good glug of oil and fry the chopped ginger and garlic for a minute

2. Add the minced pork, making sure you break it up as evenly as possible (depending on patience) into small pieces and cook until golden brown

3. In goes the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice - good stir

4. Thinly sliced shallots are then mixed in - let that soften, good stirs again. You can also add the chilli (flakes or otherwise) here

5. Taste for saltiness (it should be salty from the light soy already), add a bit more salt or soy if you think it needs it

6. I like to add all the chopped fresh herbs at the end, when I've turned off the heat and just let the residual heat cook it through a bit. Though, if you find the spring onions too oniony, you can add them a bit earlier with the heat still on

7. I like this dish on (coconut) rice or rice noodles. It can also be served in little lettuce cups. Though I would have to eat about 10 of those to be full so I stick to carbs