Larb (Thai Minced Meat Salad — Naturally Gluten-Free)

Larb — the minced meat salad of Northern Thailand and Laos — is naturally gluten-free: minced meat (pork, chicken, duck, or beef) poached or stir-fried and tossed with lime juice, fish sauce, roasted rice powder, shallots, mint, coriander, and dried red chilli. The defining element is the toasted rice powder (khao kua), made by toasting raw rice in a dry pan until golden, then grinding to a coarse powder. This powder is stirred into the salad and absorbs some of the lime-fish sauce dressing, giving it a slightly earthy, nutty quality and a texture that neither the meat nor the herbs alone could provide. Larb is simultaneously the simplest and most nuanced preparation — the quality of the ingredients and the balance of the dressing determine everything.