This chicken larb is packed with bright, delicious flavors and contrasting textures, and it takes just 30 minutes or less to make! Serve them in lettuce cups for a low carb option or with sticky rice.
What Is Larb?
Larb is a meat salad consisting of ground meat, herbs, chilies, fish sauce, lime juice, and toasted ground rice. Larb originated in Laos, and is also eaten in areas of Thailand (usually those populated by Lao people, who brought the dish to Thailand).
It is, in a word, delicious.
Little bits of crispy ground meat (in this case chicken, though ground pork, beef, duck, or even mushrooms can be used) are flavored with umami-laden fish sauce, bright lime juice, and lots of herbs.
The addition of the toasted ground rice gives the salad a delightful crunch, along with a buttery nuttiness that contrasts with the zip of the lime. The chilies give the larb heat, and the addition of fried shallots adds another delightful flavor dimension.
How Do You Eat Larb?
Larb can be served with sticky rice (see our post on foolproof sticky rice) or with raw vegetables like lettuce. It’s also delicious with fragrant coconut rice.
As my family will tell you, I am a major rice eater (I’m a two-bowl gal), but I must say that this chicken larb, when served in lettuce cups, is a delightful change of pace.
The crunchy lettuce goes perfectly with the fragrant larb, and for anyone trying to avoid carbs, a chicken larb lettuce cup offers a guilt-free option that doesn’t compromise on taste.
(Feel free to leave out the toasted rice if you’re being really strict with the carbs, but take it from me…that toasty rice is delicious. You could also reduce the amount of rice to 2 tablespoons.)
A Note On Grinding Meat for this Chicken Larb
Rather than buying ground chicken to make this chicken larb, I like to buy boneless skinless chicken thighs and hand-chop it myself using my mom’s trusty method for grinding meat without a grinder.
I do this for several reasons:
- Hand-chopped meat is a bit coarser and less like a paste, giving the finished chicken larb a better overall texture.
- Ground chicken sold in supermarkets is often made with breast meat, which is less flavorful than dark meat chicken.
- I like to buy organic chicken, and organic ground chicken is difficult to find in my supermarket.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs are often cheaper than pre-ground chicken breast.
- Hand chopping meat this way is actually very easy, and you can be sure of what went into it! Some ground meats can include fillers.
If using pork, you can also grind your own meat using pork shoulder! You can do the same with lamb shoulder, turkey thighs, etc.
Chicken Larb Recipe Instructions
In a dry wok or pan over low heat, toast the rice grains.
Stir continuously until they turn golden and fragrant––about 10 minutes.
Grind to a coarse powder in a mortar & pestle or spice grinder. Set aside.
Heat your wok over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry half the shallots in the oil until crispy. Remove the shallots from the wok, leaving behind any oil.
Place your wok back over high heat until smoking. Add the ground chicken. Stir-fry until the chicken is browned and crispy, and add in the sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice.
Stir-fry for another minute, and add the toasted rice powder, chilies, the rest of the raw shallots, scallions, cilantro, and mint.
Stir-fry for one more minute, and then taste for seasoning, adding salt or more chili, sugar, fish sauce, and/or lime juice to your taste if needed.
Serve in lettuce cups topped with the reserved crispy shallots.
Feel free to substitute any ground meat in this dish. It works great with ground turkey, ground beef, ground pork, or even ground lamb. Also check out our Pork Larb recipe, if you’d like a dedicated pork version! Pork larb lettuce wraps are delicious too!
Chicken Larb
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup uncooked jasmine rice (or glutinous/sweet rice)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 shallots (thinly sliced; divided)
- 1 1/4 pound ground chicken (570g, grind your own for the best texture)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1-2 Thai bird chilies (thinly sliced)
- 3 scallions (thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup cilantro (roughly chopped)
- 1/2 cup fresh mint (roughly chopped)
- salt (optional)
- butter, bibb, or boston lettuce (washed and thoroughly dried; can also serve with sticky rice)
Instructions
- In a dry wok or pan over low heat, toast the rice grains, stirring continuously until they turn golden and fragrant––about 10 minutes. Grind to a coarse powder in a mortar & pestle or spice grinder. Set aside.
- Heat your wok over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry half the shallots in the oil until crispy. Remove the shallots from the wok, leaving behind any oil.
- Place your wok back over high heat until smoking. Add the ground chicken. Stir-fry until the chicken is browned and crispy, and add in the sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice.
- Stir-fry for another minute, and add the toasted rice powder, chilies, the rest of the raw shallots, scallions, cilantro, and mint. Stir-fry for one more minute, and then taste for seasoning, adding salt or more chili, sugar, fish sauce, and/or lime juice to your taste if needed.
- Serve in lettuce cups topped with the reserved crispy shallots.
nutrition facts
Hi, can I make this in advance and heat it up in a wok before putting in the lettuce cups? Thanks. Claire
Hi Claire, you could do that, but it’s really best fresh! Particularly the fresh lime juice!
Such a delightful and quick recipe. I have substituted the chicken with “chicken” seitan ground in a food processor and baked brown on a tray for that crunch–an easy swap that makes the dish vegetarian and remains just as delicious.
The attention to detail in this recipe makes the whole dish pop–the ground, toasted rice is a must have addition. Truly lovely, bright and fresh!
Thank you so much, Sophia!
Just made this for lunch moments ago. Simply one of the best larb I’ve had. Taste like my friend family from Laos make it ! Thank you for the delicious recipe and instruction !
Wow, thank you for that high praise, Nicolas!
Made this yesterday for Mother’s Day. The flavor was delicious though the texture was dry. I used ground chicken breast as that’s what I have on hand and it was a bit dry. So I added cornstarch slur but it was fast absorbing it and was still dry. Any suggestion on how to moisten it? Thank you so much! Love your recipes!
Hi Armie, did you use white meat ground chicken? The best way to have moist chicken is to use dark meat chicken! If you can’t find ground dark meat chicken, you can buy de-boned chicken thighs and grind it according to this method: https://thewoksoflife.com/how-to-grind-meat-without-a-grinder/
Yes, I used white meat ground chicken breast. I got a bunch on sale and thinking it is less fatty/healthier. Thanks for your tip, I’ll try ground dark meat chicken to have it moist next time. Do you have recipes that use white meat ground chicken? I want to use up my stock. Thank you!
Hi Armie, you can try these chicken zucchini dumplings: https://thewoksoflife.com/chicken-zucchini-dumplings/. I add oil to the filling to keep the lean chicken moist.
This looks delicious! It’s not a totally carb free meal with the rice but a low carb meal eating less rice. I love making tasty ground meats/seafood and rolling it in wilted butter cabbage leaves cut with a biscuit cutter. Louisiana cooking like my second favorite Chinese cooking is the best. Thank you for sharing this lovely dish.
You’re very welcome. :)
I go back to this recipe again and again now. I just realized I’ve been adding Thai basil (in addition to mint and cilantro) when your recipe didnt call for it, haha!
Nice!
This was delicious. We had half with lettuce cups and half with the steamed egg in another recipe. This is definitely going into regular rotation.
Thank you, Reenu!
We had a double batch of this tonight. I cooked the chicken (breast was all I had) in two batches and had to put it in a strainer as there was quite a bit of liquid that was preventing it from browning. The store didn’t have any thai peppers so I used a serano and only used one. The pepper was a bit too hot, but it was delicious through the sweat… My wife and I agreed that this is going into the regular meal rotation and will also be good with leftovers for lunch.
So glad you and your wife enjoyed this recipe, Perry, and that you were able to adapt it to what you had on hand!
We really liked this recipe. I could never get the shallots ‘fried’ well nor brown the chicken well, but overall it was a great recipe and we’ll do it again.
Hi Beth, definitely make sure your heat is high enough to sear the chicken, and make sure the oil is heated to the point where the shallots sizzle before adding them. :)
The first time that I had Laab was in Chiang Mai while on a trip in Thailand. Nothing I have had in the US has compared and this recipe was by far the closest that I have had to the amazing meal I had while in abroad.
This dish was relatively easy to prepare and was delicious, thank you for an amazing recipe!
Yayyyy! So glad to hear that this recipe lived up to the memories, Andy! Thanks for coming back to leave us a review. :)