Larp

I've been yearning to make this for ages. I used to have a version of it at Chee Peng Palace, a Thai and Laotian restaurant in La Crosse. Unfortunately, it no longer exists. I think they made a beef version, it was called larb, and they served it with this divine purple sticky rice. I haven't perfected the purple sticky rice yet and this was a pork version, but it was pretty darn good. The recipe's below.

Larp (Southeast Asian Spiced Ground Pork)

seasoning paste
6-10 cloves unpeeled garlic
3 stalks lemongrass, minced
2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes or 2 tsp. ground dried red Thai chiles
1 Tbsp. roasted white sesame seeds
1 tsp. salt

meat mixture
peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 c. thinly sliced red onions
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 c. chopped green onions
1/2 c. ea. chopped fresh mint and cilantro, divided

additional ingredients
slice or chopped cucumbers
lime wedges
cooked white, brown, or jasmine rice

Roast garlic cloves in a dry skillet or wok until the skins blacken. Cool and then peel. Puree garlic, lemongrass, ginger, pepper flakes or chiles, sesame seeds, and salt in a food processor. Heat oil, add onions, and cook until slightly brown. Stir in the seasoning paste and add the pork. Brown lightly, breaking it up. Add green onions and half the herbs. Serve larp sprinkled with remaining herbs. Garnish with cucumbers and lime wedges. Serve with rice.

from Wisconsin Local Foods Journal and Susannah Brooks adapted it from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid's Hot Sour Salty Sweet.