Every element of this sunshine-packed recipe is essential, and will give you the ultimate bite: the crisp lettuce, the nutty toasted ground rice, the tangy and spicy pickled radishes … The only element I would suggest mixing up is the protein. If you don’t eat pork, feel free to use chicken mince, finely chopped raw prawns or even a vegetarian mince or tofu substitute instead – all work well. Perfect for summer entertaining, ideally with a cold beer in the garden.
Pork larb with lime radishes
Prep 15 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4
4 radishes, topped and finely sliced
2 tsp soft light brown sugar
2 limes
1-2 red chillies, finely sliced
Sea salt
2 tbsp jasmine rice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
300g pork mince
2 little gem lettuces, leaves separated, washed and dried
½ bunch fresh coriander
2 tbsp fish sauce
½ bunch fresh mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped
Put the sliced radishes in a bowl with the sugar, the juice of one of the limes, the sliced chillies and a pinch of salt, mix everything together and put to one side.
Put a large frying pan on a medium heat and dry toast the jasmine rice, stirring frequently, for between five and eight minutes, until toasted, golden and opaque all over. Tip into a mortar, leave to cool, then grind to a fine powder.
Return the pan to the hob, add the vegetable oil and fry the sliced shallots and garlic for two to three minutes. Add the pork mince, two tablespoons of water and season lightly with salt, then fry on a high heat for five to eight minutes, breaking up the mince with a wooden spoon as you do so, until it is very lightly browned and cooked.
When the pork is ready, pile the little gem leaves on a platter, and lay the coriander sprigs alongside the leaves. Squeeze the juice of the remaining lime into the pork mix, then stir in the fish sauce, chopped fresh mint and ground toasted rice. Spoon the pork into a large bowl and serve with the leaves and the pickled radishes on the side.
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