Thai Larb Salad (2024)

FAQs

What is larb salad made of? ›

In essence, Larb is a refreshing Thai salad, usually made with ground meat (typically ground chicken, beef, lamb or pork), lots of fresh herbs (mint, Thai basil or cilantro), lemongrass, garlic, fresh chilies, red onions, lime juice, green onions.

Larb means that the dish is chopped. Chopped to the max. And how you add flavor to these chopped creations varies vastly from region to region. The larb spice mix that we have just received comes from Northern Thailand. Laap Muang.

There are hundreds of variations of Thai salads, but generally speaking, they can all be grouped into four distinct categories: yam, tam, laab, and pla.

The most famous, and for many also the original, tam (ตำ, pronounced [tām]), lit. "pounded") style salad is som tam, made from unripe papaya. The basic dressing for a som tam-style salad contains garlic, palm sugar, lime juice, bird's-eye chillies, dried shrimp and fish sauce.

A ground beef dish that originated from Northern Thailand. The larb is sweet from the natural taste of beef and the sugar, yet slightly tart from the lime and fish sauce. The cilantro, mint, ginger and green onion mix adds a freshness and clean taste to the dish.

The minced pork is wonderfully seasoned with fish sauce, chili flakes, lime juice, toasted sticky rice to give it some crunchy texture, and a wonderful assortment of fresh herbs to bring it all together. If you've eaten larb (ลาบ), I'm sure you love it, but if you've never tried it, you're in for a real treat!

Pad Thai is one of Thailand's most recognized dishes. Fistfuls of small, thin or wide noodles, along with crunchy beansprouts, onion, and egg are stir-fried in a searing hot wok. The dish is also flavored with condiments such as fish sauce, dried shrimp, garlic or shallots, red chilli, and palm sugar.

These are: salty, sweet, spicy, sour, and creamy. For the dish to taste authentic, all five flavors need to be in a perfect balance.

Skip raw fruit and vegetables unless they can be peeled

The bad news is that fruits and vegetables can easily carry bacteria, making them unsafe to eat raw. Two top foods to avoid in Thailand are fresh leafy greens and berries, which are especially likely to be contaminated.

1. Pad Thai. Among all Thai dishes, the most famous one for foreigners is Padthai. Basically it is fried rice noodles with your choice of shrimps or chicken, mixed with egg, tofu, vegetables and, the secret ingredient, a sauce based on tamarind and palm sugar.

What is the origin of the larb salad? ›

While typically perceived as Thai, larb actually originated in Laos — where it is largely considered the national dish! Over time, the dish migrated and became popular in Thailand. Today, the dish is regional to both Laos and Isan, the northeastern region of Thailand.

larb Isan is known for its robust spiciness. Minced meat is usually seasoned with lime juice, fish sauce, chilli powder, grounded roasted rice, shallots, and spring onions. Some recipes also include coriander and mint leaves.

Raw larb, also known as laab diip or koy nua, is a spicy raw beef salad from Thailand's Isan region. It combines minced beef, often with blood and beef bile, with toasted rice powder and spices, creating bold flavors unique to Lao and Isan cuisine.

Nam tok, sister-salad to Larb

It is said that when grilling meat, you know it is ready when you hear the sizzling sound of the juices running out of the meat, like a waterfall! Traditionally, this type of salad is made with beef (neua), so we call it Neua Nam Tok. Unlike larb, raw meat is not used to cook nam tok.