Chicken Larb is a bright and citrusy, spicy northern Thai-inspired meat salad with fresh herbs, Thai chiles, and jasmine rice that is ready in just 20-minutes! It incorporates saltiness from the fish sauce, savory chicken, and a fresh cooling effect from the herbs and cucumber.
Using ground chicken or finely minced chicken is a popular North American variety to this dish that is native to Laos and Thailand. This simplified version of Larb Gai is one of my favorite high protein easy weeknight dinners, lunch, or meal prep recipes - it packs nicely in the kids school lunch!
What Is Larb?
Larb, also knows as Larb Gai or Laab Gai, is a traditional minced meat salad from Laos and Thailand made with ground chicken or ground pork, fresh herbs, fish sauce, lime juice and toasted rice powder. It's typically served with sticky rice or lettuce leaves to eat as a lettuce wrap.
Larb is full of flavor, balancing salty, spicy and sour. This recipe omits the toasted rice powder, also known as khao khua, for ease. I don't typically see toasted rice powder in stores near me, although it can be made from scratch and is a staple in the traditional dish adding a nutty flavor.
A Quick Glance At This Laab Recipe
- ✅Done in: 20 minutes
- 🛒Ingredients: 17
- 🍽️Serves: 4 servings
- 💪Difficulty: Easy
- 👩🍳Cook Method: Stovetop
- ⏰Make Ahead Friendly: Yes - great for meal prep!
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Why This Recipe Works
- The acidity from the lime juice cuts through the richness and savory flavor of the chicken.
- Fish sauce gives that deep umami flavor without being heavy or rich. Try it in Red Curry Dumpling Soup too!
- Packed with cooling fresh herbs to counteract the heat from the Thai chili peppers.
- High protein meal in 20 minutes.
- Texturally appealing with sticky rice, crunchy cucumber and lettuce and tender ground meat.
Jump to:
Recipe Ingredients
- Jasmine Rice: I often use jasmine rice although, traditionally Thai sticky rice, or khao niao, is used. Sticky rice is a glutinous short grain rice that becomes very sticky when cooked and, contrary to popular western belief, it is naturally gluten free. Jasmine is a fragrant alternative that works well.
- Fresh Herbs: Mint, cilantro, and basil! It's best to use bright, fresh herbs from the garden or produce section.
- Cucumber: Look for hothouse, English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers, which is often wrapped in plastic. This has thinner skin and little to no seeds.
- Fish Sauce: Fish sauce adds a multi-level umami flavor to Chicken Larb and other dishes like Pork Banh Mi. It is a Thai food staple and has become one of my favorite ingredients over the years.
- Lime Juice: Fresh squeezed lime juice adds that bright citrusy sour flavor that is a highlight of Chicken Larb.
- Lemongrass Paste: Find lemongrass paste in the refrigerated section at the produce department. This product has quality flavor and is a great time saver hack. It's not a traditional ingredient in laab gai however, I like the way it layers and accentuates the bold citrus flavor.
- Thai Chiles: These small red or green chiles pack a punch! If you don't tolerate spice levels well, use caution when eating these spicy peppers.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- A variety of meats can be subbed when making chicken larb. Traditionally, minced pork (laab moo) is used but ground chicken, turkey, ground beef (larb neua) or finely minced duck (laab ped) can be used. When using high quality finely chopped beef, it can be served raw too.
- You can skip the rice if you want and only use lettuce wraps, or cabbage in place of lettuce. Whole cabbage leaves may be used as a wrap or shredded cabbage as a mixed salad.
- Fresh lemongrass may be used in place of paste, using a 1:1 ratio. It brings a bright citrusy flavor that is also used in Shrimp Green Curry.
- Add a couple tablespoons of toasted rice powder when adding lime juice for a more authentic experience.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Thai Laab Gai
Step 1: Brown chicken heavy bottomed skillet over high heat.
Step 2: Add lemongrass and shallot, cooking an additional 20 seconds. Remove from the heat then stir in lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, salt, basil, mint, cilantro, green onions and Thai chiles.
Step 3: Serve with rice, cucumbers, and lettuce wraps.
Expert Cooking Tips
- I find the best way to get color on ground meat is to drop the entire package in the original shape and allow to brown, undisturbed. Flip the meat and allow the other side to brown well before breaking into small pieces.
- Something fun and interesting - if you're new to using fish sauce, do not smell it before adding it to Chicken Larb. The smell can be extremely off putting but the depth of flavor it adds can't be beat. It's one of my favorite ingredients and used in many of my favorite recipes, like this Meatball Banh Mi.
- Serve with lettuce cups, as a chicken larb bowl or with a side of Thai sticky rice.
Chicken Larb Recipe FAQs
Put Chicken Larb in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. It's best to store the veggies and herbs separately if you know you won't eat the entire dish at once. This allows you a quick assembly of leftovers. Once assembled it's best not to freeze, however the cooked ground meat can be frozen for up to 4 weeks in an airtight container.
You will want to double check that your fish sauce is gluten-free. While the ingredients are usually safe, some companies do add some wheat protein so read the label carefully. Everything else is gluten-free, and rice is the perfect side dish!
Thai chili peppers are definitely high up on the spice range! If you want to tone it down a bit, remove the seeds from the Thai chiles. For even less heat, substitute a serrano pepper or fresno chile pepper. If those are too much, downgrade to a jalapeno or even just coarse ground black pepper.
It is bright and citrusy, bringing savory seared chicken flavor along with spicy peppers and flavorful fresh herbs. There's a sour twang from the lime juice and deep umami flavor from fish sauce that packs a punch and makes it special. It's a bold balanced full meal that is still light.
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📖Recipe
Chicken Larb - 20 Minute Meal
Ingredients
Chicken Larb
- 2½ cups jasmine rice cooked
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1½ lbs ground chicken
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste
- 1 medium shallot sliced thin
- 2 tablespoon lime juice fresh
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ oz basil torn
- ½ cup mint leaves stemmed
- ½ cup cilantro stemmed
- ¼ cup green onion sliced thin
- 2-4 thai chiles sliced thin
- 1 cup persian cucumber sliced
- 1 head butter lettuce aka boston bibb lettuce
Instructions
- Cook jasmine rice in salted water, according to package directions. Prepare meat while rice cooks
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until pan is hot. Add a drizzle of olive oil then add chicken, allowing to brown on one side before stirring. Cook chicken all the way through
- Add garlic, lemongrass paste and shallot to chicken, stir and allow to cook for about 20 seconds then remove the pan from the heat
- Mix in lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and salt then add basil, mint, cilantro, green onion, and Thai chiles
- Serve meat mixture alongside cucumbers, butter lettuce and jasmine rice with a lime wedge
Krista Stechman
Chicken Larb is a weeknight staple! It's made super quickly, full of flavor, high in protein and the spice level is customizable which means the kids will eat it too. Serve it with rice or as a lettuce wrap to manage carbs.
Zach
Quick and easy recipe my whole family loves!