Hot, Sour, Salty and Deeply Herbaceous
Larb is one of the great meat salads and it suits venison perfectly — the meat is lean enough that the dressing does not have to fight through fat, and its slight gaminess stands up to chilli and fish sauce. The toasted rice powder is what separates a real larb from an approximation: it adds a nutty aroma and a faint grittiness that is entirely the point.
Ingredients
Serves 4 | Cost: $8.25 per serving | Total: $33.00 | Ready in 20 min
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) ground venison
- 2 tablespoons uncooked jasmine rice
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 limes, juiced
- 1–2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes, to taste
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 4 spring onions, green tops only, thinly sliced
- Large handful fresh mint leaves
- Large handful fresh coriander leaves
- 1 baby gem lettuce, leaves separated, to serve
Instructions
- Toast the rice powder. Toast the uncooked jasmine rice in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 6–8 minutes, shaking often, until deep golden and nutty. Cool, then grind to a coarse powder using a mortar and pestle.
- Cook the venison. Add 3 tablespoons of water to a hot pan, add the ground venison, and cook over high heat for 4–5 minutes, breaking it up, until just cooked through. Cooking in water rather than oil keeps the lean meat tender.
- Dress while hot. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the fish sauce, lime juice, chilli flakes and coconut sugar. Toss thoroughly — dressing the meat while hot lets it absorb the flavours as it cools.
- Add the herbs. Let the mixture cool for 3 minutes, then fold through the spring onion greens, mint and coriander along with most of the toasted rice powder. Taste and adjust the lime and fish sauce; it should be sharply balanced.
- Serve. Pile the larb into bowls with the lettuce leaves alongside for scooping, and dust with the remaining rice powder just before serving.
Nutritional & Dietary Notes
Dairy-Free
There is no milk, cream, butter or cheese in this recipe. Richness comes from the meat, the cooking fat and the aromatics rather than from dairy, which makes it a comfortable choice for anyone who is lactose intolerant or avoiding dairy altogether.
Gluten-Free
Every ingredient in this recipe is naturally free from wheat, barley and rye. If you are cooking for someone with coeliac disease, double-check any stock, sauce or spice blend you buy in, as gluten-containing thickeners and malt derivatives are common hidden additions in commercial products.
Paleo
This recipe sticks to whole, unprocessed ingredients: quality meat, vegetables, herbs, natural fats and spices. There are no grains, legumes, refined sugars or industrial seed oils, so it fits cleanly within a paleo framework.
Featured HOTRO.ca Product
This recipe is built around Ground Venison from HOTRO.ca. We source premium BC-raised and ethically farmed meats and slow-simmered bone broth, so the quality of the core ingredient does most of the work for you. Substituting a lesser product will change the result more than any other single change you could make to this recipe.
Thai-style minced venison salad with toasted rice powder, lime, chilli and heaps of fresh herbs.