The Thai LAAB Most Restaurants Don't Have

fish sauce

🥗Healthier: soy sauce

💰Cheaper: salt

Soy sauce provides umami flavor while being lower in sodium.

ground meat

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: ground chicken

Ground turkey is leaner, while ground chicken is often more affordable.

Toast cumin seeds over medium heat for a few minutes until aromatic and slightly darkened, then remove from the pan.

Toast coriander seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and other whole spices over medium-high heat until they darken and pop, then remove from heat.

Grind the toasted spices into a fine powder using a spice grinder.

Toast dried chilies separately and grind them, keeping them separate from the other spices for heat control.

Combine the ground spice mix and chili flakes in a mixing bowl, then add water and fish sauce to create a mixture.

Pour the spice mixture over ground pork and knead it into the meat thoroughly with your hands.

Optionally, add chopped liver to the meat mixture and combine well.

Prepare fried garlic by heating oil in a small pot, adding a piece of garlic as a tester, and once it bubbles, add the rest of the garlic, stirring until golden (about 5 minutes), then drain.

In a pan, heat garlic oil and sauté shallots, lemongrass, and galangal until fragrant.

Add the spiced ground pork mixture to the pan and cook thoroughly, stirring frequently.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens