Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (2024)

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One of my favorite weeknight mealsis a Thai ginger lime ground pork recipe called Nam Sod. Not only is it easy to make, but it’s light, healthy, and has that big multi-layered “pow” of flavor that Thai food is known for.

While visiting Thailand, I loved how fresh the food looked and tasted and it seemed that witheach dish, there was a mountain of fragrant herbs like cilantro,mint,lime wedges, and green onions.

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (1)

Rachelle and Pete at the market in Phitsanulok, Thailand. Photo by Gerald Wallace.

This dish is pretty versatile and while it’s a ground pork recipe, you could also use chicken. It can be served warm with rice, or chilled like a salad. In fact, I love having it for left overs for lunch! Though, if you decide to chill it overnight, I recommend keeping the peanuts separate and mix them in before serving or share them on the side so they don’t loose their crunch.

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (2)

My “lunch” leftovers of Thai nam sod.

You can also serve Thai nom sod in lettuce wraps. And we’ve even done “Thai tacos” and had them in corn tortillas before with a little sriracha or hot sauce on the side. If you’re having friends over, having all the ingredients out on a plate makes lettuce wraps or tacos a fun shareable meal.

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (3)

Cooking the ginger lime pork is quick and easy. It’s essentially browning the meat in a large pan along with chopped green onions. Then, adding more of the flavorful ingredients like ginger and lime juice toward the end of cooking. The only thing that takes a little time in making nam sod is prepping all the fresh ingredients to serve on the side. But it is SO worth the effort.

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (4)

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe

In Thailand, Nam Sodcommonly served in one big bowl family-style as an appetizer as pictured here. I hope you enjoy all the fresh flavors of ginger, lime,and cilantro in this ground pork recipe for Thai Nam Sod. It’s one of our favorites!

Looking to make it into a meal? You can serve nam sod with Thai cucumber salad. And for dessert, mango sticky rice.

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (5)

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (6)

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint
  • 1 cup fresh lime juice (3-4 limes)
  • 3-4 purple shallots, sliced
  • 3-4 green onions, sliced
  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
  • 1/4 cup of finely sliced ginger
  • 1/2 cup minced ginger
  • 1.5 pounds ground pork or chicken
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 Tbsp cooking oil

Instructions

  1. Start by prepping all of your fresh ingredients -- removing the stems from the cilantro, juicing the limes, and slicing the green onions, shallots, and ginger. For the green onions, you're going to use the whole onion - the white bulb will be sliced and sautéed while the green part will be sliced and served as garnish. For the ginger, it's easiest to peel with a carot peeler, then slice into smaller pieces to add to a food processor to mince and/or slice thinly for the garnish. I have some great tips about ginger in the video below. Once you're ingredients are prepped, the recipe comes together really fast.
  2. Heat the oil in a medium sized sauté pan, then add the sliced white bulbs from the green onions, garlic, and minced ginger and sauté until translucent.
  3. Next, add the pork or chicken and cook thoroughly. When it's about half way done cooking, add the fish sauce and half the lime juice. Save the other half cup.
  4. Once the pork is done cooking, add it to a large mixing bowl, pour the remaining lime juice on top and stir together.
  5. Top with mint, cilantro, shallots, sliced ginger, sliced green onion, and peanuts and mix together. Serve with a side of Thai jasmine rice to complete the meal.
  6. Tip: If you're chilling the salad to serve later, or think you might have some left overs, I'd serve all the garnishes listed above on the side to keep them crisp and fresh.

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Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (7)

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (8)

Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (9)

About Rachelle Lucas

Rachelle is the founder of TheTravelBite.com and was named one of USA Today's 10Best Food and Travel Bloggers. She believes the best way to learn about a destination is through its flavors and collects recipes from her trips to recreate them here on The Travel Bite. In her spare time she enjoys running and yoga to balance out her food obsession.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (10)Hua says

    I just tried this out followed everything but added thinly sliced cucumbers , grated carrots and Thai chili since my husband and I like it spicy….and it was amazing. This is a keeper!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

    Reply

  2. Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (11)Laura says

    This recipe makes a ton, so consider halving the recipe unless you plan on having a lot of friends over. Never had mint in my nam sod, nor did I ever experience it without some heat. I had to do some doctoring to this recipe to make it the way I’ve enjoyed it before.

    Reply

  3. Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (12)MARK says

    Thank you for this recipe. I added about 2 tsp sambal just before it finished cooking because I like a little kick, but otherwise made it just as you described. Delicious!

    Reply

  4. Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (13)Team Mrida says

    Hey all, just try these recipes in Earthen pots made by Mrida Earthen Cookware. you may visit at mridacookware.com

    Reply

  5. Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (14)Meghan says

    This recipe was amazing. I added red onion into mine that I saw from another recipe and it hit the spot. My family loved it. Super tasty, light, and refreshing. Making again tonight!

    Reply

  6. Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (15)ashok says

    My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.

    Reply

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Thai Nam Sod: Ginger Lime Ground Pork Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between NAM sod and LARB? ›

Larb is made using the main ingredients of beef, chicken, or pork that is mixed in with toasted rice powder, lime, and fresh herbs whereas nam sod excludes the toasted rice powder adds a mixture of minced garlic, ginger, carrots, and topped with roasted peanuts on a bed of lettuce.

Can you make ground pork? ›

You'll pay more for super-lean ground pork, as loin is the most expensive cut of pork. To grind pork at home, you'll get consistent results by using a meat grinder or a meat grinder attachment that's available for stand mixers. A food processor can also be used to grind pork.

What is a substitute for ground pork? ›

Textured Soy Protein

TSP or soy crumbles often come in ground-like meat form. They are perfect substitutes for ground pork. Since they also have the same dark meaty color, there won't be so much of a difference with the appearance of the dish.

What does larb mean in Thai? ›

Larb means that the dish is chopped. Chopped to the max. And how you add flavor to these chopped creations varies vastly from region to region. The larb spice mix that we have just received comes from Northern Thailand. Laap Muang.

What does larb mean in English? ›

Meaning of larb in English

a meat salad often made with ground pork (= the meat from a pig) and common in southeast Asian cooking: I was served larb, a spicy minced pork salad, with mint and cilantro on radicchio lettuce leaves. In certain parts of Thailand the leaf is eaten with raw beef larb.

What is the best meat for ground pork? ›

Fresh ground pork is also best from the shoulder. The loin is the animal's back muscle from the hip to the shoulder. The loin includes some of the most tender and popular cuts. Center cut chops are from the middle of the loin and include rib and loin cuts.

Why is ground pork so cheap? ›

Pigs reproduce quickly and have large litters of piglets. Since they eat like pigs they gain weight fast. So once the profit is taken from the bacon and other prime pork cuts, the ground pork also needs to be sold so the price is lowered.

What cut of pork to use for ground pork? ›

Pork Cuts Used

Ground pork is made from pork butt — which is the term for the shoulder — plus trimmings from the loin and other cuts. Ground pork tends to be a bit lower in fat than pork sausage, which usually includes a bit of extra loin fat.

How do you make ground pork taste like beef? ›

Add some Impossible Beef. It has hemes that give a red meat flavor. Or you can add ground walnuts, soy sauce, some tomato paste, nutmeg, black pepper, cumin, sh*take mushroom paste and maybe carmelized onions paste. I once created a beef substitute using something similar to that mix.

Does ground pork taste like hamburger? ›

Whereas pork gives a lighter flavor, ground beef will provide the depth of flavor needed in a slow cooked dish.

Is ground pork better than hamburger? ›

In beef, there is 14% iron per 100g when compared to the 4% in pork meat. Another big difference is that beef has a high amount of vitamin B12 and B6 when compared to pork. Although pork has far more thiamin than beef, beef is highly more valuable in vitamin structure.

Are laap and larb the same? ›

Laab / Larb (Lao: ລາບ; Thai: ลาบ, RTGS: lap, pronounced [lâːp], also spelled laap, larp, or lahb) is a type of Lao meat salad that is the national dish of Laos, along with green papaya salad and sticky rice. Laab in the Lao language is a noun that refers to meat or other flesh that has been finely chopped and pounded.

What type of food is larb? ›

In essence, Larb is a refreshing Thai salad, usually made with ground meat (typically ground chicken, beef, lamb or pork), lots of fresh herbs (mint, Thai basil or cilantro), lemongrass, garlic, fresh chilies, red onions, lime juice, green onions.

What ethnicity is larb? ›

While typically perceived as Thai, larb actually originated in Laos — where it is largely considered the national dish! Over time, the dish migrated and became popular in Thailand. Today, the dish is regional to both Laos and Isan, the northeastern region of Thailand.

What type of cuisine is larb? ›

Thai Larb salad is probably one of the easiest and tastiest Thai dishes to make. A ground beef dish that originated from Northern Thailand. The larb is sweet from the natural taste of beef and the sugar, yet slightly tart from the lime and fish sauce.

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