Pork laarb

Method

1. Toast 4 tablespoons of jasmine rice in a dry pan until fragrant. Then cool down and crush with a mortar and pestle.
2. In a pot with a touch of water cook the pork mince until two thirds of the water evaporates. The pork will release a fair bit of water, you do not want a soup, just a little bit of liquid to carry the flavour. Add the fish sauce, sugar and chill to taste. You are looking for a nice balance without any flavour overpowering the rest. Then add your grounded rice which will slightly thicken the sauce. Take off the heat and set aside.
3. In the meantime you are going to thoroughly wash the herbs. Then pick the mint and coriander, set aside.
4. Thinly slice the shallots and set aside. Also thinly chiffonade the kaffir lime leaves.
5. Once you are ready to serve and your pork is still warm, you are going to add your sliced shallots and kaffir lime leaves giving it a good mix. The residual heat from the pork will will soften the kick from the shallots while still keeping the crunch.
6. Add lime juice to your taste preserving the balance between sweetness, saltines, spiciness and sourness. To finish it, add the herbs last just before serving. You want to preserve the crunchiness and the freshness from the herbs.
7. Keep a couple of the prettier herb leaves for garnish and serve it while still slightly warm. Perfect summer dish, full of protein and refreshing!