I Wanna Larb You Right!

NATIONAL DISH OF LAOS - Larb

Now I have a secret love for Thai food. Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai, love it all! But this was my first foray into Laotian cuisine. And I must say, I feel better for it.

I've never experienced crushed rice powder, and realised that it would be in my best option to buy a mortar and pestle. So I made my way to, personally, personally, my personal opinion, the BEST store in the world: IKEA. After spending days in IKEA (most of that eating Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam), I took my new kitchen devices home.


I made the chicken variation of Larb (Larb Gai), following this recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/dining/171lrex.html?_r=1

Difficulty:       3 

Appearance:  3 

Taste:             3 

TOTAL: 9

I made Larb Gai for some of the Molefaces, however I'm not sure how well it was received.

It was fairly quick and easy to make, but lost some points due to the crushing of the cooked rice. And you have to make sure that it is crushed to a fine dust and sifted to remove any large pieces. I didn't crush it enough and it gave the chicken a gritty texture, which would have been more pleasant if the rice was finer.

The colour of the vegetables blended together well, and the herbs coupled with the fish sauce and lime juice gave off a lovely fragrance.

I believed it tasted fairly well. The aroma united with the tangy taste of the fish sauce, spice of the chilli powder, and the freshness of the mint and coriander proved to be delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed my first foray into Lao cuisine.

I'm certain that it would taste exquisite if cooked by a native Laotian.