We’ve spiked this larb with aniseed. It’s a natural partner to pork and adds an extra flavour dimension to this simple dish.

Ingredients

100 ml chicken stock

500 gm coarsely minced pork

100 gm green beans, cut into 2cm batons

½ Spanish onion, thinly sliced on a mandolin

2 Lebanese cucumbers, half-peeled and thickly sliced

1 cup mixed coriander and mint (firmly packed)

Iceberg lettuce leaves, thinly sliced red chilli, fried shallots and steamed rice, to serve

Toasted brown rice dressing

1 tbsp brown rice

1½ tsp aniseed or fennel seeds

100 ml lime juice (about 3 limes)

15 gm ginger, coarsely chopped (3cm piece)

4 kaffir lime leaves, coarsely chopped

2 lemongrass stalks (white part only), finely chopped

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp crushed dark palm sugar

1 tsp roasted chilli powder

Method

1.For toasted brown rice dressing, dry-roast rice in a frying pan over high heat, stirring constantly, until light golden (1 minute). Add aniseed and toast until fragrant (1 minute). Finely grind with a mortar and pestle, then blend in a blender with remaining ingredients until mixture is very finely chopped.

2.Bring stock to the boil in a frying pan, then add pork and simmer, stirring occasionally, until just cooked, adding beans in the last minute of cooking (4-5 minutes).

3.Transfer pork mixture to a bowl, add dressing, toss to combine and season to taste. Cool briefly, then add onion, cucumber and herbs, and serve warm with lettuce cups, chilli, fried shallots and steamed rice.

Maxwell Adey Senior Food Editor & Stylist

Maxwell has always been passionate about food. Born into a restaurateur and award-winning produce farming family, he was strongly steered into pursuing a career in advertising after completing his Bachelor of Public Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. After a very short stint, he decided to enrol in Commercial Cookery at TAFE to follow his true passion. Maxwell started out working in some of Sydney’s finest restaurants (Est., Claude’s and Moon Park) which helped further his love of all things culinary and developed his technical ability to cook. Later, he was lured into the magical world of food publishing where he freelanced for ten years for notable Australian commercial and editorial brands. He has also run his own business where he sells his marinated olives, dressings and sauces at food markets and select retailers. He excitingly joins the Gourmet Traveller team to bring his technical and creative expertise in food to the brand.

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Styling by Emma Knowles

Ingredients

Method

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