Chicken Larb Bowls - The Most Popular Recipe From My 2nd Book (2024)

FAQs

What does Laab mean in Thai? ›

Laab / Larb (Lao: ລາບ; Thai: ลาบ, RTGS: lap, pronounced [lâːp], also spelled laap, larp, or lahb) is a type of Lao meat salad that is the national dish of Laos, along with green papaya salad and sticky rice. Laab in the Lao language is a noun that refers to meat or other flesh that has been finely chopped and pounded.

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.

You can serve chicken larb warm, or lightly chilled making it a refreshing and light meal. I love serving chicken larb in bowl form with steamed rice, cucumbers, lettuce cups, and loads of fresh herbs.

To reheat leftover larb I recommend reheating in the microwave so the meat is warmed but not extremely hot. I then stir in some more herbs to freshen up and liven the recipe. I often serve larb over rice with some sliced cucumber for an easy and fresh dinner that comes together in under 30 minutes.

Yum, meaning “mix,” is a hearty dish consisting mostly of meat, fish, or seafood together with many other typically Thai ingredients which may include peanuts, fruit, and herbs.

Beef larb tends to have spicy heat followed by salty and sour flavours. Bitter larb gets its signature taste from the animal's digestive juices. Back to the fish version, that distinctive tartness adds a brightness to the dish's texture,” explained Saehu.

Laab is often made with chicken, beef, duck, fish, pork, mushrooms, shrimp or tao (algae), and flavored with fish sauce, padaek, toasted ground rice, lime and fresh herbs, including galanga, makrut leaves, scallions, cilantro, mint and either fresh chilies or chili flakes for spice.

Why? Authentic larb gai is made with padaek which is a fermented fish made into a thick fish sauce. Fermented fish is what makes larb smell. If you can't get over the smell, this is one of the ingredients that can be omitted from the recipe without any substitutions.

The name of the dish actually is derived from the ancient Lanna language from the north of Thailand, where the word meaning 'luck' comes from the ancient Sanskrit language ("The History of Larb"). What Makes Larb? Larb is a similar dish to the famous Thai food 'somtum', or papaya salad.

You're probably familiar with larb or laab (actually pronounced laab; without the R), a minced meat salad with fresh herbs, lime, chilies, and toasted rice powder.

What ethnicity is larb? ›

Larb is said to have originated in Laos but today, the dish is regional to Laos and Isaan (or Isan), the northeastern region of Thailand bordering Laos and Cambodia.

Technique: Thai cooking often utilizes a technique called slicing against the grain. This means the chicken is cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers. When cooked, these short fibers become more tender and easier to chew, even when sliced thin.

Larb should be served warm or at room temperature with a mixture of crunchy fresh vegetables (lettuce leaves, cucumber sticks, raw beans or cabbage) and steamed sticky rice.

When it is time to reheat the gravy, have a whisk on hand. The gravy must be brought to a temperature that will kill any bacteria that developed, but doing so may cause the structure to break down. So pour it into a pan, bring it to a boil, and whisk like mad to bring it back to the proper consistency.

Gravy made with flour is often easier to reheat and can be easier to brown (think of a roux).

2. Minced Meat Salad (Larb) This dish is a type of minced meat salad, and widely considered to be the national dish of Laos. You can find Larb made with chicken, beef, duck, fish, or pork.

Although stir-fried rice noodles were introduced to Thailand from China centuries ago, the dish pad thai was invented in the mid-20th century. Author Mark Padoongpatt maintains that pad thai is "...not this traditional, authentic, going back hundreds of years dish. It was actually created in the 1930s in Thailand.

Larb originates from Lao cuisine, and it's the general name to describe an entree of Lao minced meat that is mixed in a salad with herbs, lime juice, fish sauce, shallots, padaek and toasted ground sticky rice. The most common meats that are added include fish, chicken, beef, and pork.