If I have a favourite Thai dish outside of curry, it would have to be minced, spiced pork over salad or rice — I’ve seen it called larb, lahb, or lap. I’m not sure what the correct name for it is, all I know is that it’s delicious.
The first time I had this dish was at a Toronto restaurant, where it was served over rice, with a fried egg and lots of Thai basil on top. It was full of amazing flavour and the runny egg yolk added richness, but I wanted something a bit lighter, so I decided to serve it over the fresh salad greens I received in my CSA box last week. On the side, a fresh cucumber salad (cucumbers from the CSA, of course!) with many of the same Thai flavours — lime juice, chili, garlic, fish sauce.
Side note: I used to be intimidated to cook Thai and Vietnamese food at home because I figured that to do it right you needed more ingredients on hand than I had space for in my pantry, but I’ve since realized that you don’t require that much to be able to cook a wide variety of dishes. You don’t need all the sauces and spices — go for your favourites, and you’ll find yourself using them again and again. For me, those favourites are sambal oelek (a chili-garlic sauce) and fish sauce.
Build your own Asian pantry and consider including these basics:
-fish sauce
-sambal oelek (garlic chili paste)
-rice vinegar
-sesame oil
-oyster sauce
-hoisin sauce
-mirin
-fresh garlic
-shallots
-a neutral-flavoured oil for cooking, such as grapeseed or canola
In our fridge, we keep:
-limes
-fresh cilantro
-fresh basil (Thai or Vietnamese basil if you can find it)
-fresh mint
-ginger
-lemongrass, on occasion
I can’t tell you how convenient it is having these staples on hand — in a pinch, any number of them can liven up a host of dishes, from scrambled eggs to stir fries.
Back to the CSA part of this meal! Each week when we pick up our bundle, we receive an ‘extra’ — the item we select most often is a half-pound of ground pork. We love it for its versatility — it can be turned into meatballs, bolognese sauce, stir fry, burgers, dumplings, this larb salad, and many more dinner dishes.
This meal checked off a number of boxes for me — first, and most importantly, it was filling and tasty. Secondly, from turning on the stove to settling in at the table it took less than half an hour. Thirdly, I used four different ingredients from my CSA box: salad greens, cucumber, shallots, and the pork.
There are many variations of this dish on the web, but I went with this version from Food & Wine, making a few minor tweaks (I added fresh ginger and scallions, and only used Thai basil since I didn’t have other fresh herbs on hand).
The cucumber salad was thrown together somewhat haphazardly, based on a few I’ve tried over the years. I love it as a vibrant side to all kinds of main courses from fish to chicken to steak, and hope that you will too!
Thai cucumber salad
Serves 2 — double the recipe if needed
4-5 baby cucumbers, sliced into rounds
Dressing:
1 bird’s eye chile, minced (remove seeds and ribs first)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
Garnish:
Chopped peanuts
Thai basil, sliced into thin ribbons
Mix dressing ingredients into a medium-sized bowl. Let sit for a few minutes to help tame the sharpness of the garlic.
Add cucumber rounds, and stir well to combine. Garnish with basil and peanuts.
Serve.
Did you try either of these recipes? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Comment below or email suzanne.ellis@cityline.rogers.com.