Prawn and pork larb

This dish has all the wonderful hallmarks of a Thai salad: spicy, sour and salty with a rounded sweetness that doesn't dominate.

Credit: Danielle Abou Karam

• serves

  6

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 125 ml (½ cup) chicken stock
• 400 g coarsely minced pork
• 2-3 small dried red chillies
• 400 g large raw King prawns, shelled, intestinal tract removed, chopped
• 3 tsp ground toasted small red chilli
• 20 g crushed palm sugar
• 150 ml fish sauce
• 60 ml (¼ cup) lime juice
• ½ cup thinly sliced red Asian shallots
• ½ cup thinly sliced spring onions
• 1 cup coriander leaves and chopped stalks, plus extra sprigs to serve
• 1 cup mint, plus extra to serve
• 1 cup chopped sawtooth coriander, plus extra to serve

Ground glutinous rice

• 150 g (¾ cup) glutinous rice
• 50 g thin slices galangal
• 2 makrut lime leaves, coarsely torn
• 2 lemongrass stalks, thinly sliced
• 2 small, dried chillies

To serve

• wedges of white cabbage or lettuce
• trimmed green beans, peeled
• cucumber
• lime wedges

Instructions

1. For the ground glutinous rice, place all the ingredients in a dry frying pan over low-medium heat and cook, stirring regularly, for 15 minutes or until all the ingredients are an even pale gold colour. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and blend into a fine powder.  
2. Meanwhile, place the chicken stock in a non-stick frying pan and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Add the minced pork and whole red chillies, then work quickly with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps to help it cook evenly. Add the prawn meat, remove the pan from the heat and toss through until just cooked. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. While still the pork and prawn mixture is still warm, add 2-3 tablespoons of the ground glutinous rice, then add the ground toasted chilli and stir to combine well. Add the palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice to taste.
4. Add the shallot, spring onion and the herbs and toss gently together. Taste and adjust seasoning; it should have all the hallmarks of a Thai salad: spicy, sour and salty with a rounded sweetness, which should not dominate. Top with extra chillies and serve with cabbage, beans, cucumber, extra herbs and lime wedges.

 

Photography by Danielle Abou Karam.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.