Ground meat is tossed with spicy, savory, sweet, tangy, and umami sauce will definitely whet your appetite for sure. This incredibly easy to put together Thai salad will be your new favorite.
Place the sticky rice flour in a dry heated skillet/wok over medium heat and stir fry until the flour turns slightly yellowish in color and you can start smelling the nuttiness. Remove from the heat and transfer into a dish and let it cool
You can also use glutinous rice. Rinse the rice with water and then drain off and lightly pat dry with paper towel. Transfer to a small skillet and toast on a low to medium heat until the rice is aromatic and lightly brown (but not burn). It may take about 30 minutes to toast the rice. Transfer to food processor and grind into powder. You can store the rest in the air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week (for maximum flavor)
In a large skillet, preheat some oil. Stir fry the ground pork for until they start turning into opaque in color. Add in fish sauce and let it cook on strong simmer until the juice from the meat is almost gone, but not completely dry. Remove from the heat
Dressing:
Whisk/stir all the ingredients for dressing in a bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside. You can make this in a bigger batch and store in fridge for up to one week and just use whenever you fix the salad
To assemble:
I arranged lettuce leaves around the edge of the platter. Transfer the cooked meat into the middle of the platter. Sprinkle with some toasted sticky rice powder and mixt it up a little. Add in the sliced onions/shallots, the fresh herbs like mints, basil and then the chilis. Pour the dressing over and stir to combine everything. Sprinkle with more toasted sticky rice powder. Serve immediately
Notes
This can be made ahead of time, just don't pour the dressing until you are ready to serve it