Thai beef larb

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800g aged beef mince (chuck)

30g small handful of Thai shallots (or 1 banana shallot) sliced

100g Jasmine rice

2 tbsp dried ground chilli flakes (we used dried shrimp chilli flakes)

Picked coriander to garnish

2-3 spring onions (sliced)

1 tbsp aged beef dripping

4 baby gem lettuce (washed picked leaves)

For the dressing

100ml lime juice (fresh)

100ml fish sauce

100ml caster sugar

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Serves 4

Toast the Jasmine rice in a pan until its rich golden in colour, and keep it moving to prevent it from burning

Once it’s coloured, grind into a fine powder using a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar

Make the dressing by combining the lime juice, sugar and fish sauce together and stir well until the sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust to your preference if necessary. Mind the fish sauce can be quite pungent and salty if you’re not used to it!

Heat up a large saucepan up on a high heat and melt the dripping. If you don’t want to use dripping, you can use any oil. Once it’s hot enough, fry the beef mince in batches until its dark brown in colour. Stir the mince every now and then to prevent it from catching too much on the bottom of the pan, but you’re aiming for a dark rich caramelisation from the meat in the fat or oil.

Once its coloured, turn the heat off completely. Stir in the sliced shallots, dressing and powdered rice.

Garnish the dish with the coriander and sliced spring onions over the top. Serve with the lettuce cups and freshly steamed jasmine rice or sticky rice.

Notes

You can use any type of mince for this dish, and replace the beef dripping with a rapeseed oil. Minced pork, chicken and even duck works so well as a replacement!