Lao beef larb
Non-vegetarian
ລາບ · lap
The national dish of Laos: minced beef dressed with lime, fish sauce and chilli, tossed with toasted rice powder, galangal and handfuls of fresh herbs, eaten with sticky rice.
Lao beef larb is a Lao salad from Laos, ready in about 30 minutes and made with glutinous rice, ground beef and shallot. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 322
Ingredients
To serve
Method
Step 1
Dry-toast the raw sticky rice (opens in a new tab) and galangal (opens in a new tab) slices in a pan, shaking, until the rice is deep golden. Cool and pound to a coarse powder.
Step 2
Cook the beef with the water over medium heat, breaking it up, just until no longer pink. Drain off excess fat but keep the juices.
- 6 min
- medium heat
Food safety: Minced beef should be cooked through to 71 °C; whole steak pieces can be served pink if seared on all sides.
Step 3
Lift the pan from the stove and let it stand for a minute. Stir in the fish sauce (opens in a new tab), padaek (opens in a new tab), lime juice (opens in a new tab) and chilli, then the shallots (opens in a new tab), spring onion (opens in a new tab), lime leaves, mint (opens in a new tab), coriander, dill (opens in a new tab) and 2 tablespoons of the rice powder.
- 3 min
Step 4
Taste — it should be sour, salty and hot — and serve warm with sticky rice (opens in a new tab), lettuce (opens in a new tab) and raw beans.
How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels
About this dish
- Origin
- Laos · Commonly attributedLarb is considered the national dish of Laos and is equally at home in Isan, north-eastern Thailand, where most of the population is ethnically Lao.Also popular in ThailandMore food from Laos
- Dish
- Lunch · Dinner · Salads · Main courses
- Cooking method
- Toasted, Sautéed
- Taste
- sour, herby, spicy (chilli heat), salty
- Diet
- No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-proteinWith the listed swaps: Beef-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Non-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious - Good for
- Everyday
- Cook more with
- Glutinous rice · Ground beef · Shallot · Galangal · Fish sauce · Padaek (Lao fermented fish sauce)
- Techniques
- Toasting · Sautéing · Spice roasting (dry-roasting)
Allergens
- Contains: Fishfrom fish sauce, padaek (lao fermented fish sauce)
- May contain: Crustaceansfrom fish sauce
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
322 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 203 g · recipe makes 4
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 32%
- Carbohydrate 15%
- Fat 54%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 322 kcal | 159 kcal |
| Protein | 25.2 g | 12.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 11.7 g | 5.8 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 10 g | 4.9 g |
| Sugars | 2.7 g | 1.3 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 1.7 g | 0.8 g |
| Fat | 19 g | 9.4 g |
| Saturated fat | 7.2 g | 3.5 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 85 mg | 42 mg |
| Sodium | 961 mg | 474 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 2.4 g | 1.2 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 563 mg
- Calcium
- 51 mg
- Iron
- 3.7 mg
- Magnesium
- 55 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 40 µg
- Vitamin C
- 8 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 2.8 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 34 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- Optional ingredients are not included: dill, lettuce, green beans, glutinous rice.
- Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): makrut lime leaves.
- Galangal: Fresh ginger used as a stand-in: no galangal entry in FDC SR Legacy, and galangal is a closely related rhizome used in similar small amounts.
- Padaek (Lao fermented fish sauce): Fish sauce used as a stand-in; padaek is a chunkier fermented fish with rice bran, of similar saltiness but more protein.
- Red chilli flakes: Ground cayenne (FDC 170932) used as a stand-in for dried chilli flakes such as pul biber or Aleppo pepper.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Toast extra rice powder; it keeps for weeks in a sealed jar.
Common mistakes
- Browning the beef in oil — Lao larb is moist and lightly cooked.
Serve with
- Eat with your hands, using balls of sticky rice to scoop up the larb.
Storage
- Best eaten fresh; the cooked meat without herbs keeps 1 day refrigerated.
Variations
- Larb pa: Made with minced freshwater fish.
- Larb gai (Thailand): Chicken larb, as commonly eaten in Thailand.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- Glutinous rice, uncooked, for khao khua (toasted rice powder)2 tbsp · 25 g
- Ground beef, minced, ideally hand-chopped500 g
- Lime juice3 tbsp · 46 g
- Shallot, thinly sliced3 piece · 90 g
- Lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried (optional)8 leaf · 80 g
- Green beans, trimmed, cut into lengths (optional)100 g
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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