As summer hits and mint starts to take over our herb garden, Larb Gai, a Thai chicken dish, starts to take over our weekly menu.
Each flavor in larb gai sings of summer: cool refreshing mint, crisp, purple shallots, lip-puckering, zesty lime juice, fragrant toasted rice powder, tongue-tingling chili flakes and fresh bright green cilantro and green onionsโperfect for a summer night in Boone, or Bangkok.
What is Larb?
Larb is what some call a “meat salad”, which sounds weird, but is really the best way to describe it since it’s cooked ground meat of choice mixed up with fresh herbs like cilantro, green onion, and mint. It’s served with sticky rice, and loaded with your favorite Thai flavors: umamai, spicy, and sour!
Larb is popular all over Laos, which is where it orginated, and Thai versions of Larb come from the northeastern area of Thailand closest to Laos, the Isan area. Isan is the area in Thailand where some of my favorite most flavor-packed Thai dishes come from like: Som Tum, Grilled Thai steak salad, and Thai Sun-Dried Beef Jerky!
It’s also associated with good luck since it’s name has the same pronunciation in Thai as “good fortune.”
How much better can a Thai dish get?!
How to Make Larb
There are so many different versions of larb! You can find some larb recipes made with ingredients like blood, duck, galangal, and tons of other ways.
My larb chicken version is an easy one to do if you don’t live in Thailand, and aren’t able to find the more tricky Thai ingredients, but you still want that authentic Thai larb flavor.
Ingredients for Larb
1 pound of ground chicken, turkey, pork or beef
1/4โ1/2 c. water
2โ3 shallots, thinly sliced or 1 small red onion thinly sliced
juice of 2โ3 limes to taste
2โ3 tbsp of fish sauce to taste
2โ3 tsp of sugar to taste
1โ2 tbsp of roasted rice powder
1 tsp.-1 tbsp. Thai chili flakes to taste
1 c. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 c. fresh whole mint leaves
1/2 c. green onions chopped in 1/4 in. (optional)
The hardest ingredient in larb chicken to find might be the roasted rice powder, but if you don’t have an Asian market near you, you can order it online.
For how much flavor is packed in Larb Gai, you’d think it would take hours to make, but really it’s easy and quick.
Cook the meat in 1/4 cup of water in a wok or saucepan. Add more water if itโs becoming dry. Once the meat is cooked, turn off the heat and throw in the shallots.
Mix it up to cook the shallots until they wilt some. Add in the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, roasted rice powder and Thai chili flakes by teaspoon, until you reach your desired flavor.
Let the meat cool to around room temperature or so before adding the cilantro, mint, and green onions, so the herbs stay fresh.
Usually I am so hungry I don’t let it cool, and end up adding the herbs when the meat is hot and then the herbs get all wilty. It’s still yummy, but it’s even better if I’m patient and wait till it cools, so the herbs are still fresh, crisp and pretty.
What to Eat with Larb Gai
I love eating larb with Som Tum Thai, Thai sticky rice, which is what it’s traditionally served with in Thailand, and steamed veggies like cabbage, which can help cool off the heat from the Thai chili flakes!
Make larb gai tonight for dinner, and share your pic with me on Instagram @thaifoodie, which is my favorite place to hang out online. Can’t wait to see your version!
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How to Make Thai Chicken Larb Recipe
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Need a refreshing Thai salad to cool you down while heating up your tastebuds? Make Larb at home with this simple recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 pound of ground chicken, turkey, pork or beef
- 1/4–1/2 c. water
- 2–3 shallots, thinly sliced or 1 small red onion thinly sliced
- juice of 2–3 limes to taste
- 2–3 tbsp of fish sauce to taste
- 2–3 tsp of sugar to taste
- 1–2 tbsp of store-bought roasted rice powder or homemade roasted rice powder
- 1 tsp.-1 tbsp. Thai chili flakes to taste
- 1 c. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 c. fresh whole mint leaves
- 1/2 c. green onions chopped in 1/4 in. (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the meat in 1/4 cup of water in a wok or saucepan. Add more water if it’s becoming dry.
- Once the meat is cooked, turn off the heat and throw in the shallots.
- Mix it up to cook the shallots until they wilt some.
- Add in the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, roasted rice powder and chili flakes by teaspoon, until you reach your desired flavor.
- Let the meat cool to around room temperature or so before adding the cilantro, mint, and green onions, so the herbs stay fresh.
- It’s best to eat this fresh, like any salad, so try to serve it as soon as you’ve stirred it up. But if life happens and you can’t serve it immediately, just say, mai pen rai and enjoy it!
- I love eating larb with Thai sticky rice, which is what it’s traditionally served with in Thailand, and steamed veggies like cabbage, which can help cool off the heat from the Thai chili flakes!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Thai
- Method: Stir-Fry
- Cuisine: Thai
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3-4
This is great Sherri, I made it the other night and it tasted delicious, more like the genuine thing than most other Thai recipes. I couldn’t get hold of rice powder so made my own by toasting Thai rice and grinding it up in the pestle and mortar once it was cool. The rice powder definitely makes the recipe so it’s worth the effort. It’s not easy to get good recipes for some of the lesser known dishes so I am going to be paying close attention to your blog and working my way through your recipes ๐ Can’t wait to read what’s next x
Awesome Rachel! Thanks so much for your kind comment. That is wonderful you made your own rice powder! It’s definitely worth it since I think the rice powder really makes the dish too. Let me know if there are any recipes you would like to see! ๐
Love larb and this looks like such a delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing. Your blog is wonderful! ๐
Thanks so much! I love it too! I’m so glad you are enjoying our blog ๐
Until today, I would have said I can “always” get this at my local Asian market deli…but not this day. Seeing this recipe today is AMAZING!! And I have ground pork, turkey and beef on hand!! I can hardly wait!!
Aww thanks for your kind comment Glennis! I love that you now feel confident to make it at home! I make it every week in the summer! Hope you end up loving making it at home!
This recipe is even better if you chop chicken breast with a clever. Gives it a different texture. Other than that , this is an excellent revipe.
Yes! That’s a great idea too!
Adore this recipe and how it reminds me of what I had in Thailand!