Name: Thai Chicken Larb
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 260 g Ground Chicken; 1½ tbsp Toasted Rice Powder; 3 Shallots, thinly sliced; ½ cup Mint Leaves, roughly torn; ¼ cup Coriander Leaves, roughly chopped; ¼ cup Spring Onion Greens, sliced; 1½ tbsp Fish Sauce; 2 tbsp Key Lime Juice, fresh if possible; 1 tsp Palm Sugar, finely chopped; 1 Dried Red Chili Peppers, crushed; 2 tbsp Water, for cooking the chicken gently

25 mintotal

Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Medium

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Method

Warm a pan over medium heat, add the water and ground chicken, then stir gently to break the chicken into small pieces.
Cook until the chicken is fully cooked and moist, then turn off the heat.
Stir in fish sauce, key lime juice, palm sugar and crushed dried red chili until the dressing coats the chicken.
Add toasted rice powder and mix until the chicken looks lightly textured.
Fold in shallots, mint leaves, coriander leaves and spring onion greens while the chicken is still warm.
Rest briefly so the herbs soften slightly, then serve warm or at room temperature.

How to tell it's done

The chicken should be moist and crumbly, the herbs fresh, and the toasted rice powder lightly gritty.

Getting it right

Tip

Cook the chicken gently with a little water instead of browning it; larb should taste juicy and fresh, not roasted.

What to serve it with

Serve as a salad-style main with jasmine rice or as a fresh snack plate.

Common mistakes

The larb is dry.: Cook the chicken in the small amount of water rather than oil, as the recipe says, and stop the moment it loses its pink. Browned mince is the wrong texture here — larb should stay moist and loose.
It tastes flat despite plenty of lime and fish sauce.: The toasted rice powder is not a garnish. It carries the nutty backbone of the dish, and larb without it reads as spiced mince rather than larb.

Substitutions

Use Chicken Breast finely chopped by hand if Ground Chicken is unavailable.
Use Lemon Juice instead of Key Lime Juice only if lime-style juice is unavailable.
Adjust Dried Red Chili Peppers for a milder or spicier salad.
Toasted Rice Powder is key for traditional texture and should not be skipped when available.

Storing and reheating

Keeps a day in the fridge and is good cold, though the herbs darken. Dress and add the rice powder fresh if you are making it ahead — the powder goes soft in the dressing within a few hours.

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Ingredients