Laab ลาบ is one of the most iconic dishes in Thai cuisine that is popular in many Thai restaurants around the world. To me, it represents one of the best parts about Thai food – spicy, bright flavours loaded with fresh herbs. It is also one of the easiest Thai dishes you can make at home, making it very beginner and weeknight friendly!
Larb should be served warm or at room temperature with a mixture of crunchy fresh vegetables (lettuce leaves, cucumber sticks, raw beans or cabbage) and steamed sticky rice.
Watch The Full Video Tutorial!
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials, and if its your first time making laab, recommend watching it to ensure success! If you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!
*This is an old video and I spelled the dish as larb back then. I (and you) know better now .
Here are all the ingredients youll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.
- White glutinous rice or jasmine rice, uncooked. This is for making the most important ingredient in this whole thing: toasted rice powder or kao kua. It is not laab without kao kua. Glutinous rice is traditional since the northeast of Thailand eats a lot of sticky rice (glutinous rice), but jasmine rice works fine and I even find it to be more fragrant.
- Ground pork. Lean ground pork is fine, but if you can, get regular ground pork as the fat will keep everything moist, especially since there is no added fat in the dressing. You can sub ground turkey, ground chicken (use chicken thighs for best results), or ground beef, but again, dont go for lean if possible. Heres my chicken laab (laab gai) recipe. For a vegan version, see my corn and tofu laab recipe here
- Shallots, red onion will also work if shallots are not available
- Fresh mint leaves, another must-have ingredient without which it is not laab!
- Cilantro, if youre a cilantro hater, leaving it out is fine.
- Green onion
- Sawtooth coriander, also known as culantro. This is harder to find and is optional. You can also add more cilantro or mint.
- Fish sauce, see my post here about how to choose good fish sauce.
- Lime juice
- Chili flakes, you can add as much as you want but laab is supposed to be spicy! In Thailand we toast our chili flakes to get them smokey, which you can do simply by toasting it in a dry skillet over medium heat until it darkens and smells smokey. Chili powder will also work in a pinch. Red pepper flakes in Western grocery stores are usually too mild, so I suggest visiting an Asian market and get some chili flakes with some heat. Or get dried spicy chiles such as chile de arbol, and grind it up yourself.
- Sticky rice for serving. Heres a post with 7 different ways to make sticky rice, but my favourite method is this hot soak method.
- Fresh raw vegetables for serving such as lettuce, cabbage, long beans and cucumber.
How to Make Laab
Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!
- Make toasted rice powder: Place the raw rice in a dry skillet pan and cook over medium high heat, moving it constantly, until a deep brown colour develops. Dont stop at golden brown, for the best flavour you want it dark brown!
- Grind the rice with a coffee or spice grinder, or in a mortar and pestle into a coarse powder.
- Add 2 tablespoon water to a medium pot over high heat, then add the pork and stir it constantly to break it up. Once its cooked, remove from heat.
- Using the pot as your mixing bowl, add shallots into the pork and stir to break up the rings and lightly cook the shallots.
- Add the fish sauce, lime juice, the toasted rice powder, chili flakes, cilantro, sawtooth coriander and green onion into the pot and stir to mix. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, which may vary because the amount of pork juice that remains in the pot will vary. If you feel like its a little bit too strong (too tart, too salty) you can add just a pinch of sugar to balance, but do not make it sweet. Remember, there will be sticky rice to balance it all later!
- When ready to serve, stir in the fresh mint leaves. (I like to leave the mint out until serving time because they turn black when exposed to heat)
- Garnish with some mint leaves and more chili flakes. Serve with some fresh crunchy vegetables and sticky rice!
My Thai Mama’s OG Chicken Laab | Marion’s Kitchen
FAQ
What does larb mean in Thai?
Why is larb so good?
Are laap and larb the same?
What is the flavor of larb?
What to eat with larb?
Utensils: Small saucepan Flavors: Fresh meat based salad, great herb flavors, mix of chili and salty Eat it with: Larb is a Thai Isaan dish, normally eaten along with a side of Thai green papaya salad (som tam) and a plate of steamed Thai sticky rice.
What food should one eat when they have loose motions?
In the period of diarrhea, the person should ideally try to follow a diet without constipating residue, as this will help to reduce episodes of diarrhea, some of them: banana, peeled apple, vegetable soup.
What to eat with chicken larb?
While chicken larb (sometimes called chicken laab, pronounced “laahp”) is served in lettuce cups, it is also often accompanied by sticky rice, either in the cup or on the side. Scallions: Thinly slice 3 green onions, both the white and green parts, to be sautéed with the chicken. Ground chicken: Can use other ground meats if preferred.
What makes a good larb?
In the United States, ground chicken, cilantro, and mint make for a fine larb that’s easy enough to whip up for a quick weeknight dinner. The heaviest lift is toasting the rice powder, which is an essential ingredient in larb. It adds texture and body to the dish and a nutty aroma that balances salty and sour dishes well.