Thai minced pork salad (larb moo ลาบหมู)

Peel the red onion and finely slice. Cut the tomatoes in half. Peel the cucumber (optional), cut into quarters and then thinly slice. Place all of the chopped ingredients in a large mixing bowl, cover with cling film and set aside.

On a medium heat, add the oil to the wok and wait for it to heat up. Add the ground mince pork and fry for a few minutes until it changes colour. Stir occasionally to prevent it from burning and sticking. Once the meat is cooked, turn off the heat and set aside to cool down.

In a small pan, place the uncooked rice and gently toast it on very low heat for a few minutes. Stir occasionally until lightly golden brown. Turn off the heat as soon as the colour changes to avoid it tasting burnt. Place in mortar to let it cool down.

Place washed baby gem lettuce in a colander and drain off all of the excess water. On a large plate or bowl, separate each of the baby gem lettuce leaves. Roughly crush the cooled down rice in the mortar and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the cooled down mince pork to the chopped vegetables and the sauce and mix well to coat all of the ingredients. At this stage, give it a sample taste to make sure the flavours are still balanced. Depending on if it is too sour or sweet, amend as in step 3.

Serve with lime or lemon wedges. Larb salad is traditionally eaten with a glutinous sticky rice on the side, or alternatively a bowl of steamed rice.