Add 1 heaping tablespoon of glutinous (sticky) rice to a dry skillet or wok over medium low heat. Toast, stirring often, until it starts to turn from a golden brown into a dark brown and smells like popcorn, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the heat immediately to stop the cooking and allow it to cool a bit, then crush it into a powder with a mortar & pestle or a spice grinder.

Thinly slice the shallot, chop the green onions, and coarsely chop or tear the mint, coriander (cilantro), and culantro (if using) leaves and set everything aside.

In a medium saucepan or pot or deep skillet add 1-pound ground pork and cook over medium heat without any oil. Break up the meat and cook until no pink spots remain. If you prefer a wetter laab, you can add a few tablespoons of water to the pork as its cooking.

From here you can transfer the cooked pork to a mixing bowl, or just leave it in the pot, remove from the heat, and add everything there for a one pot meal. Starting with 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1-2 teaspoons chili flakes, and 1 tablespoon of toasted rice powder, add them all and stir thoroughly to combine.

Now add the shallot, green onion, mint, coriander, and culantro and stir again to combine all the ingredients. Place in a large serving bowl if serving family style, or into separate dishes for individual meal portions. Laab is typically served warm or at room temperature.

This isn’t traditional and completely down to personal preference. I like this method because it gives a little more time for the seasoning to infuse with the meat and sweats the shallots down just a bit instead of having the raw bite of onion.