We are all in this together. Only, we aren’t together. We are sequestered alone, often frustrated, often freaked-out with a nice balance of boredom. Welcome to Quarantine. The never-ending cycle of days, where you put on the same pair of dirty yoga pants, but wash your hands 5,000 times per day.

Know what I miss? Bangkok. I miss the way the streets smell like lemongrass and pork fat. I miss the bouncy sound of old Thai ladies sitting in lawn chairs in the markets, making fun of each other. Even though I don’t speak Thai, I can hear the jokes plainly. Messing with your friends is a universal language.

Yesterday, I posted my dinner on Instagram. It was a Thai mashup, based upon what I had in the fridge. Somewhat a spicy beef salad––with cucumbers and a lime dressing––but it somewhat Pad Krapow.

Pad Krapow Moo is spicy ground pork with basil over rice. You ask for it “Kai Dao” in Bangkok to get a perfectly runny fried egg on top.

Thus, last night was just steak marinated in lime, sugar and rice vinegar, thrown on some rice with cucumbers, chilies, basil and a fried egg.

I cook a lot of Thai food at home. It’s as much comfort food as fried chicken or Mac & Cheese. My fridge normally contains Golden Mountain sauce, lemongrass, frozen kaffir leaves and frozen pandan leaves, galangal, fish sauce, and Thai chilies. I have shrimp paste and tamarind sauce and approximately 400 cans of coconut milk, plus 6 bottles of Thai hot sauce.

I am having bouts of boredom, but I am having no problem withstanding a quarantine where Thai takeout is concerned.

However … you’re probably not in the same boat. It’s ok. If you’re craving Thai food, you can make it so easily, with things you probably already own.

Larb is where we will start today. So simple, healthy, and also open to interpretation. Throw a fried egg on that shit, yo! It’s fine!

Pronounced lawb, this dish is like a lettuce wrapped Thai Taco. That’s bastardizing it all to Hell, but … hey … it’s a quarantine. Forgiveness.

Larb hails from the Northern Issan region. It’s beloved by Thai and Laotian people, and both languages translate the word to mean luck. Larb Gai is with ground chicken. Larb Moo is with ground pork. Essentially, it’s every Thai flavor in a single bite––sour, heat, sugar, fat, umami. All the things!

I’ll give you my at-home version. Then, from there, have a field day. Throw it on rice. Serve it with cabbage or cucumbers or both. I’ve even put it over romaine before. I’ve actually made a Thai taco with sour cream and it was awesome.

The only thing I would advise is avoid heavier, fattier ground meats. Stay away from ground beef or ground lamb. Stick to chicken or pork, sliced up shrimp or tofu, even.

My Recipe for Larb Moo

Serves 2

For the meat:

½ lb. of ground pork 

1 clove of garlic, finely diced

½ Tbsp. chili sauce (Any kind of Asian hot sauce or chili oil works)

Dash of cumin

Dash of sugar

Dash of vinegar

Method:

Heat olive oil in a small skillet. Add garlic and chili sauce and sauté over low heat until the garlic is translucent. Add in ground meat, sprinkle with salt, sugar, cumin and whatever “Thai-esque” spices you might have on hand. Splash that vinegar in there. Hey! It’s a party!

Increase your heat to medium and brown until cooked. Get some of those crunchy bits going on the pork. Stir constantly to fully incorporate the meat, chili sauce and garlic. Remove, drain grease, and set aside.

For dressing:

*Literally almost everything in this dressing is optional. Once you make it, taste it. It should give you that immediate sense of Thai food. There should be some sour notes, some spice, a definite sweetness and the umami that comes from fish sauce. If you hate fish sauce or don’t have it, leave it out. I will say, give it the TINIEST of splashes though, and you will find it brings so much to a sauce. Used very sparingly, you’ll never taste fish. You’ll only taste something you cannot quite put your finger on. That’s umami. That’s that beautiful, mouth-coating “ooomfph” that all good Thai dishes have.

I’m giving you the full-scale, ideal version, but if you don’t have one of these ingredients, leave it out. Swap it out. The only crucial thing is to taste the dressing and fall in love. Keep adjusting proportions till you get there and whisk it well before pouring it on the meat.

2 Tsp. brown sugar

1 lime juiced

¼ stalk lemongrass, sliced (optional)

½ tsp. ground thai chili powder (optional)

1 tsp. of kaffir lime, but lime zest works almost as well

1 tsp. ginger, finely diced

1 tsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. shallot, finely diced

½ Tbsp. sesame oil

Method:

Add all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Taste. Adjust. I like to mash those pieces of lemongrass to get the flavor, and then remove them. Eating raw lemongrass is a bit rough.

For salad mixture:

10-12 crushed peanuts (Again, use cashews or almonds or leave out)

1 cucumber, julienned or shredded or noodled

10 large pieces of green cabbage

10 mint leaves, shredded

10 basil leaves, shredded

To Plate:

Toss the pork and the dressing together. Then, essentially make tiny, cabbage-shell tacos, with basil, mint, and peanuts with the meat mixture. Or, throw it all in a giant salad bowl and go to town on it.

Hopefully I’ll be back with additional recipes this week. Till then, stay safe, stay inside, be good to one another and keep looking at that light at the end of the tunnel. It’s there. Twinkling. It’s there.