Laab Moo
Laab moo is a spicy Thai ’salad’. The laab style of cuisine originates from Isaan - the North East but is very popular throughout Thailand. Laab moo is often eaten with sticky rice and let’s throw in a som tum as well - why not, it’s my dinner. Laab moo is is nothing like a salad in the Western sense of the word. There is hardly anything green (or even vegetarian) in this salad at all. The dish is essentially nothing more than spicy meat with a few ingredients for flavoring. When I say meat, the moo refers to pork but it could also be gai (chicken) or perhaps duck or fish but this you’ll see less often. There is also laab tao hoo or spicy tofu salad which is delicious vegetarian alternative but this is even more rare to find in a restaurant in Thailand.
Laab Moo - Image © 2008 thaifoodandrecipes.com
This is a photo of my laab moo meal today from a restaurant called Baan Suan 18km north of Chiang Mai. This is what I had for my evening meal along with yam talay (seafood salad - yes that’s right another ’salad’), plain rice (not sticky rice as you would expect), prik nam pla (chilis in fish sauce) and a fresh uncooked vegetables (cabbage, long beans and basil leaves). I’m not including the beer or two that complements spicy food so well.
I was asked by the waitress if I would ‘like it spicy’ - ‘Yes, I like it spicy’ I replied which is roughly where my fluency in Thai begins and ends. Of course, on arrival the dish was not that spicy, it never is when compared to the fiendish dishes you will have prepared for you in Isaan or even the South of Thailand. This is normal. Northerners it seems err on the side of caution, even more so when serving a Westerner. For spice devils this is easily remedied by a liberal application of nam pla prik. Once this adjustment was made it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal.
You can watch a video for showing a laab moo recipe - I’m impressed with the chef’s knife wielding exploits as he minces the pork, I’m sure you will be too.
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