Larb Muang Moo (Northern Thai-Style Chopped Pork Salad) Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated Mar. 26, 2019
Larb Muang Moo (Northern Thai-Style Chopped Pork Salad)
Made with pork offal, heavily spiced, and thickened with blood, this ain't your grandma's Larb. J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

This ain't your grandma's pork larb. Unless your grandma happens to be of Lanna descent and native to Northern Thailand, in which case, this is probably very much like your grandma's pork larb. Lanna Thai larb is similar to Isan larb in that it starts with minced meat, but from there, it diverges wildly. Gone is the hot-sour-sweet balance you find in Isan-style larb. Instead, you find a much darker mince, with tender bits of lean pork mixed together with chunks of fat, chewy bits of intestine, and a rich, thick sauce flavored with crushed spices and pork blood. It's not larb for the faint of heart, but it's one worth seeking out or cooking at home if you've got any interest in offal.

Why this recipe works:

  • Frying whole cloves of smashed garlic gives you garlic oil to cook with and crisp fried garlic to use for garnish.
  • 砍手猪肉是客y for the best texture.
  • Toasting the spice mix before grinding and blooming it in hot oil delivers maximum flavor extraction and development.

Note:Long pepper can be ordered via Amazon. Leave out the pork offal and blood if desired or unavailable. Instead, use an extra 1/4 pound of lean pork in its place. Pork can be chopped in the food processor if desired. To do so, cut pork into rough 1-inch pieces and place on a large plate. Freeze for 15 minutes. Working in two batches, transfer pork to a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped and pieces no larger than 1/4-inch remain. Follow recipe as instructed.

Recipe Facts

Active:30 mins
Total:30 mins
Serves:4 servings

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  • 2smalldried hot chiles

  • 1/4teaspoonwhole芫荽子

  • 1/4teaspoonwhole Sichuan peppercorns

  • 1wholelong pepper(see note)

  • 1/4teaspoonwhole cloves

  • 1star anisepod

  • 1 (1/4-inch piece) mace, or1/4teaspoonground nutmeg

  • 1/2cinnamonstick

  • 4 pods Thai black cardamom, inner seeds only, or1podgreen cardamom

  • 1/4teaspoonwhole black peppercorns

  • 2tablespoonsvegetable orcanola oil

  • 6smallcloves garlic, skins on, smashed in a mortar and pestle or under a heavy skillet

  • 1/2poundlean猪腰or shoulder, chopped by hand into pieces no larger than 1/4-inch (see note)

  • 1/4poundmixed pork offalsuch as kidney, liver, or tripe, chopped by hand into pieces no larger than 1/4-inch (see note)

  • 1/4cupchopped fresh cilantroleaves and fine stems

  • 1/4cupfreshpork blood(see note)

  • Kosher salt

  • Fish sauce

  • Sticky rice orregular ricefor serving

Directions

  1. Combine hot chiles, coriander, Sichuan peppercorn, long pepper, cloves, star anise, mace, cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper in wok. Heat over medium heat, stirring and tossing constantly, until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder.

  2. Wipe out wok and add oil. Heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add smashed garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and crisp, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.

  3. Reheat garlic oil over high heat until shimmering. Add pork and pork offal and cook, stirring and tossing constantly, until barely cooked through, about 1 minute. Add spice blend and cilantro and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add pork blood if using and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 30 seconds.

  4. Season mixture to taste with salt and fish sauce. Serve immediately with rice or sticky rice, sprinkled with fried garlic.

Special equipment

Mortar and pestleorspice grinder,wok

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts(per serving)
214 Calories
12g Fat
6g Carbs
21克 Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 214
% Daily Value*
Total Fat12g 15%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Cholesterol137mg 46%
Sodium560mg 24%
Total Carbohydrate6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein21克
Vitamin C 41mg 207%
Calcium 37mg 3%
Iron 2mg 12%
Potassium 336mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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