Larb
Larb, or laab, is a Lao/Thai minced meat salad that's savory, salty, and tangy, made with ground meat, fresh herbs, shallot, fish sauce, lime juice, and toasted rice powder. It's a must-order at Thai restaurants, but it's actually super easy to make at home. Enjoy this larb with some Thai fried rice, Vietnamese egg rolls, or egg drop soup to complete the meal.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 pound ground chicken (or your preferred ground meat *see notes)
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to your preference)
- 1½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 2½ tablespoons lime juice (about 1 to 1½ limes, juiced (more or less to your preference* see notes))
- 1 tablespoon toasted rice powder ((you can also make it yourself* see instructions below))
- 1 shallot (sliced)
- 2 stalks green onion (sliced)
- ¼ cup cilantro (roughly chopped)
- 2 tablespoons mint (just the leaves)
- Sticky rice (cooked)
- Lettuce
- Cucumber (sliced)
- Bird's eye chili
Instructions
- 1
For the larb salad:
- 2
In a saucepan over medium heat, add the ground chicken and cook until almost done and the chicken is no longer pink. Make sure to break up the ground chicken while cooking.
- 3
To the ground chicken, add the crushed red peppers and sauté briefly until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
- 4
Add the fish sauce and stir and cook for about 10 to 15 seconds, until the chicken is completely cooked through. Remove from heat.
- 5
To the chicken, add the lime juice and shallot and stir well. Then, add the toasted rice powder and stir to combine.
- 6
To finish, add the green onion, cilantro, and mint leaves.*At this point, if the ground chicken is still hot, allow it to cool a little longer before adding the herbs.*
- 7
Transfer the larb to a serving plate and top with some more toasted rice powder if desired. Enjoy immediately with sticky rice, lettuce, sliced cucumbers, and bird's eye chili if you like spice.
- 8
(Optional) If making toasted rice powder:
- 9
In a pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of Thai sweet rice. Toast the rice until browned, about the color of caramel sauce (like a deep golden brown). Make sure to shake the pan often. Once the rice is browned, remove from heat and allow the rice to cool to room temperature. Once the rice is cool, grind the toasted rice into a coarse powder using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.*You can also make more than 2 tablespoons worth and store the extra toasted rice powder in an airtight container for up to 2 months at room temperature.*