Thai Larb-Style Chopped Salad with Toasted Rice

About This Recipe

Larb (or laab) is the defining dish of Isan, northeastern Thailand, built on minced meat quickly cooked and tossed while warm with lime juice, fish sauce, chile flakes, and khao khua -- toasted rice ground to a coarse powder that gives larb its distinctive nutty crunch and thickening effect. This version uses ground chicken and leans slightly smoky with a touch of smoked paprika alongside the traditional toasted chile powder, an honest adaptation for cooks without access to Thai dried chiles. The technique that defines real larb is toasting raw sticky rice in a dry pan until deeply golden, then grinding it in a mortar or spice grinder -- this step cannot be skipped or substituted with breadcrumbs, since the flavor is genuinely nutty and toasty. The meat is cooked just until no longer pink, then tossed off the heat with the dressing so it doesn't overcook and dry out. Served with sticky rice and a plate of raw cabbage, long beans, and cucumber for scooping, larb is eaten as a shared dish at Isan gatherings -- sour, salty, spicy, and herbal all in the same bite.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 gground chicken
• 3 tbspraw sticky rice(for toasting)
• 0.25 cupchicken stock(or water)
• 3 tbspfish sauce
• 3 tbsplime juice
• 1 tbsppalm sugar
• 1 tspsmoked paprika
• 1 tspThai chile flakes(or dried chile flakes, to taste)
• 3shallots(thinly sliced)
• 3spring onions(sliced)
• 0.5 cupmint leaves
• 0.25 cupcilantro(chopped)
• 2 cupscabbage wedges(for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast and grind the rice

   Toast raw sticky rice in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, 6-8 minutes until deep golden brown. Cool, then grind coarsely in a mortar or spice grinder.

2. 2

   Cook the chicken

   Bring chicken stock to a simmer in a skillet. Add ground chicken and cook, breaking it up, 5-6 minutes until just cooked through -- don't let it dry out or brown.

3. 3

   Dress while warm

   Remove from heat. Immediately stir in fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, smoked paprika, and chile flakes so the meat absorbs the dressing.

4. 4

   Add rice powder and herbs

   Stir in 2 tbsp of the toasted rice powder, shallots, and half the spring onions and herbs. Taste and adjust lime, fish sauce, or chile.

5. 5

   Finish and serve

   Transfer to a platter, scatter remaining herbs and rice powder on top, and serve immediately with cabbage wedges and sticky rice.

Variations

• •

  Larb moo uses ground pork instead of chicken, the most common version in Isan.

• •

  Larb pet uses duck, often served slightly rarer than the chicken version.

• •

  Vegetarian larb substitutes finely chopped mushrooms cooked the same way.

Storage

Best eaten fresh within a few hours since the herbs wilt. If needed, refrigerate the dressed meat up to 2 days and add fresh herbs and rice powder just before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions