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Thai

Larb gai

Non-vegetarian

ลาบไก่ · lap kai

A warm salad of minced chicken dressed with lime and fish sauce, tossed with shallots, herbs, chilli and nutty toasted rice powder. Eaten with sticky rice and raw vegetables.

Larb gai is a Thai salad, ready in about 30 minutes and made with glutinous rice, ground chicken and shallot. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Plate of chicken larb with fresh herbs, toasted rice powder and rice
Photo: Alpha from Melbourne, Australia / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-2.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
15 min
Total
30 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
235

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Toast the raw rice in a dry pan, shaking often, until deep golden and nutty. Cool, then grind to a coarse powder.

    Make extra; it keeps for weeks in a jar.

  2. Step 2

    Put the chicken and water in the pan and cook over medium heat, breaking it up, until just cooked and still juicy. Do not brown it.

    • 5 min
    • medium heat

    Food safety: Cook chicken until no pink remains and the juices run clear (74 °C in the thickest part).

  3. 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), lime juice (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab) and chilli, then the shallots (opens in a new tab), spring onion (opens in a new tab), mint (opens in a new tab), coriander and 1–2 tablespoons of the rice powder.

    • 2 min

  4. Step 4

    Taste and adjust — it should be sharp, salty and hot. Serve warm or at room temperature with lettuce (opens in a new tab), cucumber (opens in a new tab) and beans.

      A finished dish being plated
      How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

    About this dish

    Origin
    Not attributed to one place · Origin disputedLarb is a national dish of Laos and a staple of Isan in north-eastern Thailand; it is claimed by both.Also popular in Thailand, United States
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Salads · Main courses
    Cooking method
    Toasted, Simmered
    Taste
    sour, spicy (chilli heat), herby, salty
    Diet
    No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
    All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
    With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Ovo-vegetarian, Pescatarian, Flexitarian-friendlyWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Everyday · Minimal cleanup
    Cook more with
    Glutinous rice · Ground chicken · Shallot · Fish sauce · Lime juice · Sugar
    Techniques
    Toasting · Simmering · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) · Dry grinding

    Allergens

    • Contains, can be adapted: Fishfrom 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

    235 kcal per serving

    Estimated

    1 serving ≈ 208 g · recipe makes 4

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 40%
    • Carbohydrate 21%
    • Fat 39%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy235 kcal113 kcal
    Protein23.9 g11.5 g
    Carbohydrate12.5 g6 g
    Net carbohydrate10.8 g5.2 g
    Sugars3.3 g1.6 g
    Added sugars0.5 g0.3 g
    Fibre1.7 g0.8 g
    Fat10.4 g5 g
    Saturated fat2.9 g1.4 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol108 mg52 mg
    Sodium1127 mg541 mg
    Salt equivalent2.8 g1.4 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    854 mg
    Calcium
    41 mg
    Iron
    2.2 mg
    Magnesium
    63 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    35 µg
    Vitamin C
    10 mg
    Vitamin D
    —
    Vitamin B12
    0.8 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    29 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: lettuce, cucumber, green beans.
    • 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

    • Add the herbs at the very end so they stay bright.

    Common mistakes

    • Frying the mince in lots of oil until brown — larb should be moist and tender.

    Serve with

    • Serve with sticky rice and som tam for an Isan-style meal.

    Storage

    • Best eaten on the day; refrigerate the cooked meat (without herbs) for up to 1 day.

    Variations

    • Larb moo: Make it with minced pork.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. 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

    Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

    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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