Well this is exciting! Not only do I get to share a lovely Thai recipe with you all, I get to show you a way to put a spin on this classic recipe. Rather proud of myself for thinking of this if I must say so myself. Get ready to make Thai Laab Moo Fresh Rolls!
Okay so for all of you who are unfamiliar with Thai cuisine, laab moo (ลาบหมู) is essentially a minced pork spicy salad containing shallots, lots of lime juice, cilantro, mint, chilli flakes and garlic. The herbs and lime juice make for a delicious and healthy recipe, and the minced pork means that it is a meal high in protein. In a traditional laab moo recipe, you will find that they add toasted sticky rice but I omitted that in this recipe to keep it lower carb and to keep the recipe easy as pie.
The addition of rice paper rolls is a great way to enjoy laab moo and a way to get some more veggies into you. I really don’t like lettuce all that much but hey, put it into a rice paper roll and I will eat it right up. Rice paper rolls have some magical properties to make things I don’t like edible I guess (no, it’s because then I can dip it in yummy peanut sauce … shh).
However, I added spinach to this recipe because I seriously have a love affair with spinach – it is high in antioxidants, fiber, protein (3g for 2 cups of raw spinach), and plenty of minerals including but not limited to vitamin A, C, K, calcium and so much more.
Thai Laab Moo Fresh Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 rice paper rolls
- 4 oz lean minced pork
- 1 1/2-2 cups spinach
- 1/4 cup vermicelli noodles not necessary but the rolls are a bit wet without them
- 1 shallot diced
- 2 garlic cloves mashed
- 1 lime
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 5-10 cilantro leaves
- 5 mint leaves
- 1/2 tsp-1tbsp chilli flakes please adjust to YOUR spice levels
Instructions
- 1. Get your minced pork and squeeze the juice of 1/2 lime onto the meat and let it marinade for 30 mins to 1 hour. Prepare you vermicelli noodles while you wait according the directions.
- 2. Get a frying pan/wok and put on high heat for 1 minute. Now, get 1tbsp of water and splash onto the pan. It should start sizzling and evaporating, and if so your pan is hot enough. Add the pork to the pan (be careful!!) and cook until the meat turns a grey color and there is no more pink. Once the pork is done put it into a bowl.
- 3. Add the diced shallot, mashed garlic cloves, fish sauce, cilantro leaves, mint, chili flakes, and juice from the remaining 1/2 lime into the pork mixture.
- 4. Get your rice paper rolls ready. If they are dry, then run them under hot water for 30 seconds - 1 minute until they soften. Lay the rice paper rolls out and put 1 cup of spinach on each roll followed evenly distribute the vermicelli noodles.
- 5. Sieve the pork mixture (save the juice in a separate bowl) and now add the pork mixture on top of the spinach. Roll everything up.
- 6. Enjoy and use the juice from the pork mixture as a tangy dipping sauce!
Yeah. not an expert at making rolls but I will be with practice!
I hope you enjoyed this meal as much as I did! I added way way WAY too much chilli flakes (being in America has weakened my ability to handle spice) but hey, apparently spicy foods boost your metabolism …
Honestly yours,
Alice
