Larb Moo (Isan Pork Larb)

Put 30 g Glutinous rice in a dry pan over medium heat and toast, shaking constantly, until the grains puff, turn pale gold and smell nutty, about 5 min. Tip out and cool completely. Grind the cooled toasted rice in a mortar or spice grinder to a coarse powder, some grains still whole. Set aside.

⚠ Tip: Walk away and it burns: keep the grains moving and pull the pan off the moment they colour.

Wipe the pan, add the Dried Thai chillies and toast over medium heat until they darken to deep red and smell smoky, about 1 min. Cool, then grind coarse.

⚠ Tip: Burnt chillies make the whole larb bitter, so err on the pale side.

Bruise the Lemongrass with the back of a knife and slice the tender bottom third paper-thin. Slice the Galangal into fine slivers. Shred the Makrut lime leaves very fine. Slice the Asian red shallots as thin as you can. Pick the Spearmint, Thai basil and Coriander leaves, keeping them whole so they stay crisp and loud, and slice the Spring onions thin.

⚠ Tip: Slice lemongrass and galangal as thin as you can: thick coins are woody and unpleasant to chew.

Stir together the Thai fish sauce, Limes juice, the ground toasted chilli from toasted chilli flakes and the Thai toasted chilli flakes in a small bowl. Taste: it should be sharply sour and salty, not sweet. Set aside.

⚠ Tip: Do not add sugar. Isan larb is sour, salty and hot, not sweet.

Put the Minced pork in a dry wok or heavy pan over medium heat with the lemongrass, galangal and makrut. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until it is opaque, no longer pink and just starting to squeak and catch a little colour, about 7 min. There should be no liquid left in the pan. Take the pan off the heat and let the pork sit for a minute or two so it is warm, not steaming hot.

⚠ Tip: Dry-toast, do not fry: the pork should cook in its own fat and juice, not brown in oil. If it looks wet, raise the heat and keep stirring.

Spoon dressing over the warm pork and toss hard. Add the Asian red shallots and the ground toasted rice and toss again until every grain of pork is coated and glossy.

Fold in the Spring onions, Coriander, Spearmint, Thai basil and the Mini cucumbers. Taste one more time: it should hit sour first, then salty, then chilli heat, with the toasted rice powder underneath. Serve right away, with sticky rice and extra raw herbs.

⚠ Tip: Add the herbs at the very end: they must stay raw and bright, never wilted.