Best Larb Recipes

THAI LARB GAI (CHICKEN WITH LIME, CHILI AND FRESH HERBS)

Steps:

• To make roasted rice powder, heat a wok or skillet over high heat. Add raw rice and cook, stirring often, until rice is toasted and dark brown, but not black, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from wok and set aside to cool. Grind to a coarse powder in a mortar, blender or coffee grinder; set aside.
• To cook chicken, heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. When very hot, add 2 tablespoons water, then add chicken, stirring constantly to break up any lumps. Cook just until cooked through, about two minutes, then transfer to mixing bowl. While chicken is just warm, add remaining ingredients (except for garnishes) and roasted rice powder. Mix gently but thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasonings. Mixture should be tangy, salty and lightly spicy.
• Spoon onto serving plate and surround with mint, lettuce and cucumber. Serve with rice. If serving with sticky rice, pinch some off, mold into a small ball and dip into larb, scooping up a little of each ingredient. Or scoop larb into lettuce leaves.

THAI CHICKEN LARB

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook and stir until chicken is broken into little pieces, about 5 minutes. Add red onion and scallions. Continue to cook and break up the chicken until browned, about 2 minutes. Add cilantro, mint, ginger, lemon grass, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until flavors blend, about 3 minutes more. Season with sea salt.

LARB GAI

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook chicken over medium heat until no longer pink, 8-10 minutes, breaking it into crumbles; drain. In the same skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and chiles; cook and stir until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the cooked chicken, lime juice, fish sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar and Sriracha. Cook and stir until heated through. Stir in cilantro and mint. Serve with rice and, if desired, lettuce leaves.

LARB CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl to blend; reserve sauce.
• Bring broth to simmer in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken. Simmer until cooked through, breaking up meat with spoon, about 8 minutes. Add green onions and next 3 ingredients. Stir until vegetables are tender and most of liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sauce, cilantro and mint. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon into lettuce leaves; serve.

TOFU LARB

Steps:

• Make the toasted rice powder: Heat a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium-high. Add the rice and stir constantly for 4 to 6 minutes until golden, with a nutty aroma. Transfer rice to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind until it is a coarse powder. (You don't want it too fine; some texture is nice.) You should have about 3 1/2 tablespoons. Set rice powder aside.
• Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and red-pepper flakes; whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
• Crumble the tofu into small chunks and place in a large bowl.
• Heat the medium skillet over medium-high and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the lemongrass and shallot and cook, stirring constantly, until softened and aromatic, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add to the tofu, along with the lime dressing, rice powder, makrut lime leaves, herbs and salt. Taste and add more salt if needed.
• To serve, spoon the tofu larb into the lettuce leaves and garnish with crispy fried shallots.

LARB GAI - SPICY THAI CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat, no oil necessary.
• Add chicken, stir until cooked through.
• Remove from heat, drain excess liquid.
• Add fish sauce and lime juice.
• Toss all together with cilantro, onion, shallots, mint, cayenne, rice powder, and ground chile/garlic paste.
• Adjust seasoning to taste.
• Serve immediately over lettuce leaves or thinly sliced cabbage.
• Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

ROASTED MUSHROOM LARB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Spread the mushrooms in an even layer on a sheet pan and drizzle with the oil. Season with salt and, using your fingers, toss to coat. Roast, turning the pan halfway through, until mushrooms are golden brown and crisp around the edges, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, toast the rice in a small skillet over medium, stirring often, until it begins to smell nutty and turn golden, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder and process to a medium-coarse powder.
• Zest and juice 1 lime into a medium mixing bowl. Add the sugar, soy sauce, garlic and chile. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the roasted mushrooms to the bowl and toss to coat. Add the onion, scallions, cilantro, mint and basil. Stir to combine, then sprinkle on the toasted rice powder.
• Cut the remaining lime into wedges. Serve the mushroom larb alongside steamed rice with lime wedges for squeezing.

THAI LARB SALAD

Steps:

• Bring water to a simmer in a large skillet over medium heat. Add turkey; cook and stir until no longer pink and and it registers 165 degrees F (74 degrees C) on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Stir green onions, cilantro, mint, lime juice, fish sauce, and chile flakes into the ground turkey.

LARB GAI NIKKI-STYLE

Steps:

• Whisk lemon juice, lime juice, fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and lemon zest together in a bowl until dressing is smooth.
• Spread ground turkey in a thin layer in a arge skillet; add garlic. Pour enough water into the skillet to cover the turkey; bring to a boil. Cook and stir turkey mixture, breaking the meat apart with a fork, until turkey is browned and crumbly, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain liquid and transfer turkey to a large glass bowl.
• Mix red onion, carrot, chestnuts, Thai chile peppers, green onions, mint, basil, and cilantro into turkey until well combined. Refrigerate mixture until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle rice powder and Thai chile flakes over turkey mixture and mix well.

SPICY LARB WITH CABBAGE CUPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast peanuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until skins are slightly darkened and nuts are golden brown, 6-8 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop or crush into small pieces.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high until shimmering. Add garlic and cook, smashing down on cloves to break into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until some parts are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Push garlic to one side of pan, then add pork and a pinch of salt to the other side. Cook, smashing and stirring pork and garlic together, until no clumps remain and meat is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook; as soon as you can't see any pink, remove from heat. Mix in shallot, scallions, chiles, lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, and half of peanuts. Let larb cool slightly, then stir in mint. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
• Transfer larb to a large bowl. Serve with cabbage, rice, lime wedges, and remaining peanuts.

LARB - LAOTIAN CHICKEN MINCE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread the rice onto a baking sheet.
• Bake the rice in the preheated oven until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Once cooled, grind into a fine powder with a spice grinder. Meanwhile, grind the chicken thigh meat in a food processor until finely ground; set aside.
• Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, galangal, chile peppers, and green onions; cook and stir until the garlic softens, about 3 minutes. Add the ground chicken thigh meat, and cook, stirring constantly to break up lumps, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Season with fish sauce, shrimp paste, and sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the excess liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the ground rice, mint, basil, and lime juice to serve.

THAI PORK LARB WRAP

Steps:

• Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small pot. Add the pork and stir until pork is fully cooked. Turn off the stove, then drain out and discard the juices.
• Add lime juice, fish sauce, rice powder, sugar and the powdered chili pepper. Using a wooden spoon, stir and mix until the pork is evenly seasoned. Add the red and white onion, cilantro and green onion, lime leaf and lemongrass. Using the wooden spoon, stir and mix until everything is evenly proportioned. This is the "larb."
• Heat the tortilla in a hot pan until both sides are nice and soft. Lay out the tortilla on a cutting board, spread the mayonnaise on top and add "larb" right in the center of the tortilla. Wrap it up like a burrito. Serve, and you have yourself a nice, healthy lunch.

LARB CHICKEN

Steps:

• To make toasted rice, place rice in a dry hot wok; swirl until golden brown, allow to cool, then grind in a mortar& pestle or spice mill.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in wok and add the chicken; stir-fry until cooked through.
• Drain chicken and place in mixing bowl, adding lemongrass, green onion, red onion, galangal, fish sauce, lime juice, chiles, and ground rice; mix well and set aside.
• On a bed of lettuce leaves, arrange chicken mixture and garnish with mint and cilantro.
• Serve with steamed sticky rice or steamed jasmine rice, using small amounts of rice to pick up the larb.

HERBY PORK LARB WITH CHILE

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, toast the rice, stirring frequently, until it starts to smell nutty and turns golden in color, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or clean spice grinder and allow to cool for a minute or two. Grind or pulse the rice until it has a powderlike consistency. You should have about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons. Set aside and wipe out the pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk together shallots, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, bird's eye chile, chile flakes, half the scallions, half the mint and half the cilantro. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add pork, breaking meat apart with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook until meat is no longer pink, but not browned, about 5 to 6 minutes.
• Remove pork from heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pork to the bowl with the chile-herb mixture, add the rice powder and stir together until combined. Season with kosher salt to taste.
• Top with remaining herbs and serve. Season with flaky salt and an extra squeeze of lime, if desired.

LARB (LAAB) THAI MEAT SALAD WITH MINT AND LEMONGRASS

Steps:

• Combine the first four ingredients in a medium bowl. Save this sauce for later.
• Simmer the broth in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground chicken. Simmer until cooked through, breaking up any clumps of meat with a spoon, about 8 minutes. Add green onions, shallots, lemongrass and chillies. Stir until vegetables are tender and most of liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sauce, cilantro and mint.
• You can serve this salad as is with butter lettuce or use it as a filling for your fresh rolls.

SLOW-CARB LARB GAI

Steps:

• Cook ground chicken in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly to break it into small crumbles, about 5 minutes. Stir in peanuts, red pepper flakes, ginger, and salt. Add lime juice and fish sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and chicken appears dry, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer chicken mixture to a large bowl. Fold in mint, basil, and cilantro. Spoon mixture into individual butter lettuce leaves and top with cucumber.

TURKEY LARB

Steps:

• Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lemon juice, fish sauce and honey. Set aside.
• Larb: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, lemongrass, chile, and salt, to taste. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the turkey and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the meat and vegetables are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the dressing to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the mint. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Spoon the turkey mixture onto the lettuce leaves and arrange on a serving platter. Serve with sticky rice.

THAI CHICKEN (OR PORK) SALAD WITH GLASS NOODLES - LARB WOOSEN GA

Steps:

• Soak bean threads in water for at least 5 minutes, then use scissors to cut it a few times into 2-3 inch pieces. Boil in water for just 2 minutes, drain, place in bowl, drizzle a small amount of vegetable oil over noodles to prevent them sticking together, and set aside. Do this while the chicken (or pork) cooks.
• To prepare khao koor: get a skillet fairly hot, and add 2 tablespoons of uncooked jasmine rice. Keep it moving until the rice starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Grind to a fairly coarse powder in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. The powder should retain some texture and not be too fine a powder.
• In the same skillet, cook the chicken/pork with the garlic with a small amount of oil.
• In a large mixing bowl, add shallots, cooked chicken (or pork), khao koor, ground Thai chile powder, chili flakes, fish sauce, and lime juice. Toss gently until mixed well.
• Add bean thread noodles, spring onion, cilantro, and toss it together a little (not too much).
• Transfer to a dish and top with a generous amount of whole fresh mint leaves.
• If not using the noodles, serve over rice with a side of fresh veggies, like sliced cuccumber, sliced green cabbage, raw sugar snap peas, etc.

LARB - LAOTIAN CHICKEN MINCE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Spread the rice onto a baking sheet.
• Bake the rice in the preheated oven until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Once cooled, grind into a fine powder with a spice grinder. Meanwhile, grind the chicken thigh meat in a food processor until finely ground; set aside.
• Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, galangal, chile peppers, and green onions; cook and stir until the garlic softens, about 3 minutes. Add the ground chicken thigh meat, and cook, stirring constantly to break up lumps, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Season with fish sauce, shrimp paste, and sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the excess liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the ground rice, mint, basil, and lime juice to serve.

SPICY MUSHROOM LARB

Steps:

• Heat 5 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook, tossing often and reducing heat as needed to avoid scorching, until golden brown all over, about 15 minutes.
• Add scallions, garlic, and ginger to skillet, followed by remaining 1 Tbsp. oil. Cook, stirring often, until aromatics are softened and fragrant, about 4 minutes.
• Remove skillet from heat; season mushroom mixture lightly with salt. Mix in shallots, chiles, mint, fish sauce, and half of peanuts. Taste and season larb with more salt if needed.
• Transfer larb to a platter or large bowl. Serve with cabbage and remaining peanuts alongside.