Thai Chicken Larb Recipe

Thai Chicken Larb recipe aka Thai Larb Gai is a flavorful and easy to make Thai salad made with ground chicken, red onion and fresh herbs. Seasoned with a tangy fresh lime juice dressing, Thai Larb is served with crunchy fresh veggies over lettuce leaves.

Chicken Larb Recipe

When it comes to Thai food, Larb is one of my favorite dishes. This fresh and healthy meat salad is savory, tangy and a bit spicy with a light touch of sweetness. This intensely flavored dish is often served as a salad in Thai restaurants although at home I often serve it as a main course for lunch or dinner.

Similar to lettuce wraps, this chicken larb recipe features ground meat stir-fried with fresh ingredients like green onions, Thai basil, garlic, onion, fresh mint leaves and fresh chiles. The flavorful tender chicken mixture bursts with Thai flavor and is served with crunchy raw vegetables like cucumbers, carrots, green beans and jicama over lettuce cups.

What’s Larb?

Laotian Larb is a type of meat salad popular in Laos and the Isaan region of Northern Thailand. Known as the “unofficial National dish of Laos” this traditional dish is also a very popular street vendor food.

This refreshing and flavorful salad can be made with different types of minced or ground meat. Larb Gai also spelled Laab Gai and Laap Gai, is made with chicken (Gai means chicken). Larb Moo is made with ground pork and Laab Neua or beef larb is made with ground beef.

Larb Salad Ingredients and Substitutions

• Ground Meat: For this Larb Gai recipe I use ground chicken. Minced chicken thighs can be used also. Proteins like ground pork, lean ground beef, ground turkey, ground bison and even ground duck can be used. For a vegetarian version firm tofu or plant protein can be used.
• Fish Sauce: Stinky, pungent and full of flavor fish sauce is an essential ingredient in Thai cuisine. Don’t worry the salad won’t taste fishy.
• Lime Juice: Nothing compares to the taste of fresh lime juice.
• Brown Sugar: The sweetness of brown sugar balances the saltiness of the fish sauce and the sour notes of the lime juice. Palm sugar or granulated sugar can be used. If preferred use honey.
• Fresh Chilies: Thai chiles or birdseye chiles. If you cannot find them, serrano peppers, hili powder or chili flakes are good substitutes.
• Oil: Any mild cooking oil can be used.
• Shallots: Peeled and sliced.
• Garlic: I use fresh garlic. In a pinch, use garlic paste.
• Scallions: Green onions aka scallions thinly sliced.
• Onions: I love red onions but you can use brown or white onions also.
• Fresh Herbs: Thai Basil, fresh mint and fresh cilantro. If you don’t like cilantro, you can skip it.
• Serving Ideas: This popular dish can be served with sticky rice, romaine lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, green beans, carrot sticks, jicama sticks sliced radishes, lime wedges.

Recipe Shortcut / Time Saver

Authentic Thai Larb recipes include grounded toasted sticky rice powder known as khao kua, the glutinous rice powder thickens the sauce a little bit. I often skip this step with amazing results. Yes, some days toasting and grinding rice seems like a lot of work! However, this step is included in the recipe card below if you want to add it!

How To Make This Chicken Larb Recipe

1. First, in a small bowl mix the sauce ingredients, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
2. In a little bit of oil, in a wok or large skillet, stir-fry the chiles, shallots, and garlic. 
3. Add the ground meat and stir-fry until cooked through.
4. Stir in the onions and scallions and cook for about 1-2 minutes.
5. Stir in the sauce and toss to combine. If using sticky rice powder this is when you add it.
6. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the fresh herbs, Taste and serve warm or at room temperature with sticky rice and veggies.

How To Make Sticky Rice Powder

To make toasted rice powder, in a dry skillet over medium-low heat toast raw rice, stirring often until the rice is fragrant and medium golden brown in color. Place the rice in a food processor, blender or spice grinder and grind until a coarse powder is formed.

What Do You Eat Larb With?

• Traditionally, Larb salad is served over lettuce leaves, garnished with fresh herbs alongside a side of sticky rice. Thai Green Papaya Salad can also be served alongside this dish.
• Larb can also be served as an appetizer in lettuce cups or as Thai lettuce wraps using iceberg, Bib or Boston lettuce, topped with torn fresh herbs.
• I love serving Thai Larb salad with plenty of crunchy veggies like cucumbers, carrots and radishes and lots of fresh herbs. This is a great healthy and delicious lunch option.
• A bed of steamed rice topped with chicken Larb is also absolutely delicious.

What Type of Food is Larb?

Larb is a fresh and flavorful Thai salad made with ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef or pork are the most common). This light, savory, tangy and somewhat spicy salad (although you can adjust the spiciness of the dish) is a healthy lunch alternative and can be served as an appetizer over lettuce cups.

Is Larb Served Cold or Warm?

Traditionally Larb is served hot right after is made. This popular and healthy Thai dish is also served at room temperature or cold in lettuce wraps.

What’s the Difference Between Larb and Nam Sod?

These two Thai recipes are very similar. If they were people, they would definitely be first degree cousins! Some of the ingredients are different, Nam Sod uses ginger for example and it is usually made with minced pork. Although both are from the Asaan region, Nam Sod is from the Southern area while Laab or Larb Gai is from the Northern area.

What Does Larb Gai Mean?

Larb Gai is a ground chicken Thai salad popular in Laos and the Isaan region of Northern Thailand. It’s known as the “unofficial National dish of Laos”. This healthy salad is light, savory, tangy and a bit spicy.

Is Larb Healthy?

Yes! Thai Larb is a very healthy salad packed with lean protein, vegetables and lots of fresh herbs. This guilt-free salad is low-carb, low in fat and gluten-free.

Make Ahead and Storing

• The simple tangy lime dressing can be made 4-5 days in advanced. Keep the dressing stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 
• Leftover Larb salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. If the salad (tossed with the dressing) is served over lettuce leaves, it’s best to remove the lettuce before storing. The lime in the salad dressing wilts the lettuce quickly.

• Thai Tom Yum Soup Recipe
• Thai Basil Chicken Recipe
• Thai Chicken Curry Recipe
• Shrimp Pad Thai Recipe

This Larb recipe post was first published in 2018 and has been updated to provide the reader with additional information. The recipe remains the same.

This recipe is part of Food Blogger’s Winter Games Series! If you want to see the delicious recipes my friends are making this week, the links are below!

China – Cashew Chicken
Germany –Pork & Sauerkraut Cabbage Rolls
Greece – Greek Style Grilled Lamb Chops
Italy –Fettuccini Alfredo
Korea – Oven Baked Korean BBQ Chicken Wings
Sweden –Easy Swedish Cucumber Salad
USA – Instant Pot Bourbon BBQ Ribs