Hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series on foods from TV and film with some inspiration from the Larb Gai Spider-Man: Homecoming. For those not familiar, larb gai or just “larb” as it is often colloquially referred to, is a Thai small plate dish composed of ground minced meat and aromatic veggies that are sauteed and wrapped in fresh butter lettuce leaf. There are MANY variations on this classic Thai dish that can include all kinds of veggies and aromatics, like Thai chiles, Thai basil, green onions, and more.
Personally as far as I can tell though, by FAR the key to a more “larb-y” larb gai (in the words of Aunt May) comes from the use of dry toasted rice powder which we’ll be using to season our ground mince meat. This is also where a number of our key Thai ingredients are going to come into play as well, including glutinous rice, lemongrass, and my two personal favorites, a bit of galangal root and kefir lime leaves, both of which you’ll find come up in a of Thai cuisine for their iconic aromatic flavors. Hope you try it.
serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground meat (pork or chicken)
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp white pepper
6-8 Thai chiles
1/2 medium red onion
2 green onions
1 head butter lettuce
peanut oil
INGREDIENTS (rice powder)
1/2 cup glutinous rice (or jasmine rice)
1 inch (about 4-6 slices) glangal root
4-6 kaffir lime leaves
1 lemongrass stalk
INGREDIENTS (sauce)
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 lime juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
pinch kosher salt
PREP
SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice the whites thinly, the greens on a bias, and set aside
SLICE the red onion thinly, set aside
SLICE the Thai chiles, set aside
REMOVE the exterior layer of the lemongrass, then slice, set aside
SLICE the galangal root into coins, set aside
SLICE the kaffir lime leaves, set aside
COMBINE the ground meat with corn starch and white pepper, set aside
COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add glutinous rice and toast for 10 minutes until browned, agitating occasionally
ADD the remaining rice powder ingredients, and toast for 2-3 minutes until fragrant
ADD the rice mixture to a food processor, then blitz for 1-2 minutes in 3 second pulses, until a loose, pebbly texture forms
ADD the rice mixture to a mortar and pestle, and grind until a fine powder forms
HEAT a wok as hot ass possible, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil, and long yao
ADD half of the red onions to the wok, and saute for 1 minute
SHIFT the onions to one side, then add the whites of the green onions and the Thai chiles, bloom until fragrant (about 15 seconds) then toss to combine
ADD the ground meat to the wok and saute until 80% cooked through, then add the sauce mixture
ADD the rice powder 2 tbsp at a time, folding into the ground meat gradually
REMOVE from heat, then add the reserved red onions and toss to combine
SERVE with butter lettuce cups, and garnish with the greens of green onions and lime wedges