Harold Dieterle's Duck Larb Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated January 06, 2020
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Note: Chicken breast, beef chuck, pork loin or shoulder, or even firm fish can be substituted for the duck. Toasted glutinous rice powder can be purchased at Thai grocers. Thai red chile powder can be found in Asian grocers, or you can substitute red chili flakes. This dish is extremely hot. You can tone down the heat to suit your taste if desired.

Recipe Details

Harold Dieterle's Duck Larb Recipe

Active 30 mins
Total 0 mins
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Pickled Read Onions:

  • 1 cup rice wine vinegar

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 1 large onion, peeled cut into 1/4- to 1/8th-inch rings, base reserved

For Larb:

  • 1/2 cup glutinous or short grain rice

  • 1 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

  • 1 pound duck meat from legs or breasts, well-chilled, cut into 1-inch cubes

  • 1 medium shallot, finely minced (about 2 tablespoons)

  • 2 large cloves garlic, finely minced (about 1 tablespoon)

  • 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger

  • 1 stalk lemongrass, tender bottom portion finely minced (about 1 tablespoon)

  • 1 tablespoon Thai dried ground chile

  • 1/2 cup long bean or green beans cut into 1-inch segments

  • 1 1/2 cups mixed basil, mint, and cilantro leaves

  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce

  • 2 tablespoons lime juice

  • Romaine lettuce leaves for serving

Directions

  1. Combine rice vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add onions and onion bottom. Cover pot and remove from heat. Allow onions to pickle for at least 1 hour before using. Pickled onions can be stored in a sealed container covered in brine in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks.

  2. Heat rice in a dry 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, tossing and stirring constantly until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Set aside.

  3. Grind duck through the course plate of a food grinder, or by pulsing in a food processor 1/2-pound at a time with 10 to 12 one second pulses.

  4. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until lightly smoking. Add duck and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink and fat has mostly rendered. Drain fat and return duck to skillet. Add shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and half of chile. Cook, stirring occasionally, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add long beans and red onions and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add herbs, fish sauce, and lime juice, and toss to combine. Taste for heat and add remaining chile powder if desired.

  5. Place lettuce leaves with cupped side facing up on a serving platter. Spoon larb into lettuce leaves, sprinkle with toasted rice powder, and serve.

Special Equipment

Meat grinder or food processor; spice grinder

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
359Calories
13gFat
35gCarbs
25gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories359
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g17%
Saturated Fat 3g14%
Cholesterol 116mg39%
Sodium 1179mg51%
Total Carbohydrate 35g13%
Dietary Fiber 3g9%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 25g
Vitamin C 19mg97%
Calcium 76mg6%
Iron 4mg25%
Potassium 467mg10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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