A Thai fusion ‘laab’ bursting with umami and fresh fragrant flavours
Beautiful Asian flavours come together in this easy meat and noodle stir-fry of Vermicelli Pork Aubergine Laab. Fried crispy eggs with a gooey yolk sit proudly alongside the miso-soy drenched noodles and a tangy fresh lime and coriander sauce plays the final starring role.
What is Laab?
Laab, or Larb, is a famous dish from the city of Laos in Northern Thailand. In simple terms it translates to a meat salad garnished with fresh herbs. Modern laab is most often made with chicken, beef, duck, fish, pork or mushrooms.
Fresh herb sauce
Laab sauce is always a combination of fish sauce, lime juice and fresh herbs. It is served at room temperature along with a bowl of sticky rice or vegetables.
Fusion Laab recipe
In this recipe of Vermicelli Pork Aubergine Laab, some elements remain intact along with a twist. Vermicelli noodles are blended with stir-fried aubergine and pork mince, then coated in an Umami Bomb Sauce, consisting of miso, soy sauce and maple syrup (or honey).
Traditional Laab dressing
A sour lime, coriander and fish sauce is then poured over the laab to give it back to a traditional Thai flavour. Fried eggs complete the dish simply because almost anything tastes better with a fried egg on top.
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Vermicelli Pork Aubergine Laab
Taking inspiration from Tahi laab, this fusion version combines pork mince with aubergine, vermicelli noodles, and a salty-sweet miso sauce. Garnished with Thai basil and fresh lime and coriander dressing.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Total Time: 25 Minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Pork
- Method: Stir Fry
- Cuisine: Modern Fusion
Ingredients
- Oil for frying
- 500g pork mince
- 100g Vermicelli noodles
- 1 aubergine
- 1 red chilli
- 4 eggs
- 1 spring onion, sliced thin
- Thai or regular basil leaves
Umami Bomb Sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp hot water
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
- 1tsp sriracha (optional)
Sour Coriander Lime Sauce
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
- 1 or 2 small green chilies, minced
- Handful of coriander chopped fine
Instructions
- Put vermicelli noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Place a cover on top and allow to soak for 5 minutes (or as long as the packet instructions say). When soft and pliable, drain and set aside.
- Combine all Umami Bomb Sauce ingredients along with the 100ml of stock. Set aside.
- Combine all Sour Coriander Lime Sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Cut the aubergine into small pieces. Heat a generous amount of oil in a frying pan or wok and fry aubergine until soft and starting to brown. Season well with salt as you fry.
- Add pork mince to the aubergine and cook until starting to brown.
- Drain vermicelli noodles and add them to the mince and aubergine. You may want to cut them in half before adding if they are very long.
- Pour umami sauce into the pan and coat pork and noodles well. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes until the sauce absorbs but doesn’t dry out. Remove from the heat.
- In a separate frying pan, heat some oil and when nearly smoking, crack in eggs. Fry until the edges are crispy but yolk is still runny. Season with salt.
- Transfer laab to a large serving plate or divide between bowls. Pour over sour coriander lime sauce and garnish with spring onion and basil leaves. Serve with fried eggs.
Keywords: pork laab recipes, stir fried vermicelli with pork, stir fry pork recipes, easy stir fry recipes, vermicelli noodle recipes
