Laab Moo

Toast dried red Thai chiles, whole black peppercorns, coriander seeds, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, whole cloves, broken cinnamon sticks, dried dee plee peppers, whole nutmeg, and cardamom pods in a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat until aromatic, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and let cool completely. Add the salt and pound with a pestle into a fine powder. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can use a spice grinder.) This makes about ½ cup laab chile, which will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork and liver with the laab chile until just mixed. Set aside.

In a wide sauté pan, heat ¼ cup of the oil over low heat. Add the garlic and cook slowly until golden and fragrant, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn, about 3 minutes. Transfer the crispy garlic and oil to a small bowl and set aside.

Add the remaining ¼ cup oil to the pan, add the chiles, and cook until darkened in color, about 2 minutes. Transfer the crispy chiles and oil to a second small bowl and set aside.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, sauté the pork mixture just until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of the fried garlic along with the lemongrass and makrut lime leaves and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the two kinds of mint, the culantro, scallions, and cilantro and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes, until fragrant. Off the heat, season with fish sauce to taste.

Transfer to a platter and garnish with makrut lime leaves, lemongrass, shallots, crispy pork rinds, the remaining fried garlic, the fried chiles, chopped cilantro, and scallions. Serve with cucumber and cherry tomatoes.