Larb

A minced meat salad from Northern Thailand and Laos — pork or chicken with lime juice, fish sauce, toasted rice powder and fresh mint.

Larb is the national dish of Laos and the ceremonial dish of the Isan people of northeast Thailand — eaten at every celebration, funeral and gathering of significance. The dish has ancient roots, with some food historians tracing it back 700 years to the Lan Xang kingdom. The defining ingredient is khao khua — toasted rice powder made by dry-roasting raw rice until golden then grinding it in a mortar. Without it, the dish is not larb. The most traditional versions use raw protein, lightly warmed by the lime juice. The dish is aggressively seasoned — very sour, very fishy, very spicy. It is not a gentle dish.

Toasted rice powder is essential — it adds a nutty crunch that defines the dish. Use fresh mint generously. The dish should be aggressively sour and spicy.