I recreated Duck Larb, a delicacy from the northeastern region of Thailand from memory and homesickness. The beautiful gaminess of the duck pairs so well with the herbs and toasted rice powder and chilli flakes.
Background Story
Just got off the call with my dad to check in on how he’s doing. He told me that he just had the last bag of the frozen Larb Ped (more on this in a bit), which got me thinking 2 things: 1) damn, I wish I could have some right now and 2) wait, it can’t be that hard to make, surely.
Okay, back to the Larb Ped story. My uncle lives in Nakhon Phanom in the northeast (E-sarn region) and he swears by this little shop that makes THE BEST Larb Ped. Larb is a Thai-style salad notable for the addition of toasted rice. While we can get Larb anywhere in Thailand, it is typically made from either pork or beef. A duck Larb is a rare occurrence and only a specialised restaurant would make it. Therefore, a bit of a delicacy in that sense.
So going off my memory of how it tasted, I jotted down the list of ingredients then off I went. The base of all Larb recipes is pretty much the same. It’s the same list of herbs and seasonings. So when you learn to make one, you could pretty much make any Larb you like. It’s like learning how to make a Caesar Salad, you know it needs anchovies and parmesan and also needs to be cos lettuce. The rest is just whatever you desire – bacon, chicken, eggs, and myriads of other things.
This Larb recipe is particularly nice because the addition of a few things such as the crispy duck scratching, for example, really elevates the textural element of the dish. The basic pork Larb recipe doesn’t normally include scratchings. Although I now think it should.
Duck Larb Important Steps
Step 1: You’re having a Larb
Yes, pun intended. The most important thing that distinguishes a Larb from other types of Thai salads is the herb and seasonings. It needs to be seasoned with chilli flakes and toasted rice powder. As for herbs, we’ll need spring onions, mint and culantro (aka saw-toothed coriander).
That’s a start for a good Larb. Without some of these elements, you’ll probably end up making something else so call whatever your creation is but please do me a favour and spare the word ‘Larb’ only when you at least have all of the above ingredients in the dish.
I’ve also done a comparison table between the 3 common types of Thai salads to give you a visual understanding – go check it out!
Step 2: Duck Scratchings
No one likes a floppy, sad, chewy duck skin. So how a duck Larb is approached is to separate the skin from the meat. Here, I used breast meat for its tenderness. Go on and remove the skin from the breast, then slice it into small pieces. I then fry them in the pan until crispy. No extra oil is needed as the skin already has a layer of fan underneath it which I want to render out. I also added herbs for a beautiful aroma. This includes kaffir lime leaves, thinly chopped lemongrass and a few dried red chillies. It also tones down the gaminess of the duck. Gorgeous crispy duck skin frying in its own fat, how good does that sound!
Step 3: Duck Larb Assemble
I know there are a lot of herbs and elements going on but to make a Larb is actually really simple. Yes, it does take a tad bit more time to prep with all the chopping and finding ingredients but when you’ve got that sorted, the dish will be ready in less than 5 minutes I promise you.
Remember that duck fat we rendered out from the skin? I’ve also found a use for that. So after you have fished out the skin, cook the duck meat in that pan. One-pan wonders!
Duck Larb – Thai duck salad with toasted rice dressing (ลาบเป็ด)
Ingredients
- 2 pieces duck breast with skin skin removed, meat thinly sliced
- 1 stalk lemongrass chopped
- 2 leaves kaffir lime central stem removed
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp chilli flakes adjust your spice level
- 1 tbsp toasted rice powder
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp mint chiffonade
- 1 tbsp culantro (sawtoothed coriander) chiffonade
- 1 tbsp spring onions chiffonade
For Garnish
- 2 pieces toasted red chilli
- 1 tbsp roasted peanuts
- 1 wedge lime
Instructions
- First, if you haven't done so already let's prepare the duck. Remove the skin from the breast and slice them up into small pieces. For the breast meat, also slice thinly so that it cooks quickly.
- Heat up a small pan to medium heat, then add the duck skin to the pan. Render the fat from the skin. When you see oil in the pan, add the torn up kaffir lime leaves and sliced lemongrass.
- Fry the skin in the herb-infused fat until crispy for roughly 5 minutes. Remove the skin and herbs from the pan then set them aside.
- Turn the heat up to high then add the duck meat into the pan stir it around for about 1-2 minutes until the meat is cooked. Avoid overcooking the duck breast.
- Turn off the heat and season the duck with fish sauce, sugar, chilli flakes, toasted rice powder and lime juice. Then add the herbs – mint, culantro and spring onions. Give it a good mix.
- Plate it up and sprinkle the garnish on top.
Enjoying your larb
Thai salads lend themselves so well to enjoying with other fresh vegetables like lettuce and cucumber. However, for a vessel to mop up all those sauces freshly cooked sticky rice is also highly recommended!💛
Did you make this recipe? Follow and tag me on @eatwithfish_. I look forward to seeing your creations. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter and email updates for the latest recipes.
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