Pork Laab

By Sherry Rujikarn

Updated July 29, 2025

Pork Laab
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(487)
Comments
Read comments

The magic of pork laab (also known as moo larb or laap) lies in the simple yet strikingly effective combo of fresh herbs and toasted rice to season this ground meat salad. Cilantro, scallions and mint balance the richness of the meat, while the nutty flavor of the ground rice — an essential component of laab — complements the zingy lime juice. Many Thai recipes call for ingredients that can be tough to find in the U.S., but this northern Thai salad is an outlier. You can opt for dried Thai chiles, if you’ve got them, or you can achieve your desired heat level by grinding up crushed red pepper.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings as part of a larger Thai meal, 2 servings as a main course
  • 3tablespoons uncooked jasmine rice
  • 1pound ground pork
  • 1small shallot, thinly sliced
  • 3 to 4tablespoons lime juice (about 1½ limes)
  • 2tablespoons fish sauce
  • ½ to 1½ teaspoons ground red chiles (preferably Thai; see Tip), to taste
  • ¼ cup packed cilantro leaves and stems, chopped
  • 2scallions, thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves, roughly torn, plus more for serving
  • Raw green cabbage wedges, long beans, cucumber slices, and lettuce leaves, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

349 calories; 24 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 775 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small, dry skillet, toast the rice on medium for 10 minutes until browned and fragrant, shaking or stirring often. Cool completely. Grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder until a coarse powder, like cornmeal.

  2. Step 2

    In a medium saucepan, combine the pork and 1 tablespoon water. Cook on medium 5 minutes, until pork is cooked through but not browned, breaking up into small bits and stirring often. Remove from heat.

  3. Step 3

    To the pork, add the shallot, lime juice, fish sauce and chile. Stir to combine. Add the cilantro and scallions.

  4. Step 4

    Just before serving, stir in half of the toasted ground rice. Taste and add remaining rice for more crunch, if desired. Fold in the mint. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with more mint, if desired. Serve with cabbage wedges, long beans, cucumbers and lettuce leaves.

Tip
  • If you can’t find ground Thai chiles, you can finely grind crushed red pepper flakes in a spice grinder. Just be careful when removing the lid of your spice grinder, as the potent dust cloud that floats up can be cough inducing.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
487 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

JenniK

Laab moo has been on heavy rotation in my house for about 15 years, since I watched a lady in Thailand make it and asked her to share the ingredients with me. This is the closest recipe I’ve ever seen to the one I make. I use chopped fresh Thai birdseye chillies and add them to the cooked pork mince with the lime juice and the fish sauce to steep while I chop and mix the remaining salad-y bits, before mixing everything together. I like it hot! Also I don’t bother with toasting/grinding rice, too much faff for me - I use bashed up raw cashews. Eaten in baby gem lettuce cups. SO GOOD.

Geoff

BTW - you can buy packets of toasted rice powder in Asian grocery stores.

Amber Senn

This is so delish and simple. Don’t skip the rice- it’s easier than you think, and gives the dish its authentic crunch. I served with gem lettuce, extra cilantro, mint, hot pepper, shredded cabbage, and carrots and cukes sliced into oblong discs onto which you can pile the laab… Super summer meal!

Stephanie

I was tempted to tweak this recipe but listened to my own advice and followed it (except for using ground turkey breast) and it was phenomenal. I added a ripe avocado to the plate because I needed to use one that chose to ripen at that exact moment. It is SO good. It went DIRECTLY into my "Favorites" folder!! Delicious. FAST. Healthy... And the ground turkey breast really took on the flavors and felt SO light and healthy.

Maggie T

Super easy, super tasty. I made mine with ground turkey. Followed the rest of the recipe. I served this with a quartered, smallish head of cabbage which gave me enough space to wrap a spoonful of laab into the leaves. If you don’t like salt, use less fish sauce. I loved the addition of toasted ground rice as that lent a nutty taste to the dish. I will likely only brown 2 tablespoons of rice in future prep’s as that was all I really needed. This is an absolute keeper!

C

Try coleslaw mix for the veggie component. Leave it uncooked and top it with the larb. I often use it, both cooked and uncooked, in many dishes that call for cabbage.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.