Chicken Larb
Juicy, fully cooked ground chicken sharpened with lime and fish sauce, then finished with shallot, fresh herbs and fragrant toasted-rice powder.
Jump to recipe- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 18 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Serves
- 4
- Role
- Main course
Keep toasted, sour and herbal notes in focus
Water encourages loose, moist pieces. It helps the ground chicken cook evenly without the hard sear that would pull the texture toward browned mince.
Acid waits until the heat is off. Lime stays vivid and shallot retains character when neither is fried in the pan.
Herbs go in last. Mint, cilantro and scallion should remain fresh and recognizable, not collapse into the hot chicken.
Toast, cook, season, then fold
Toast and grind the rice
Toast the glutinous rice in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring constantly, until evenly deep golden and nutty-smelling, not blackened. Spread it on a plate to cool for 5 minutes. While it cools, slice the shallots, scallions and cucumber, chop the cilantro, tear any large mint leaves and separate the lettuce or cabbage leaves; then grind the rice with a mortar or spice grinder to a slightly gritty powder.
Prepare the seasonings and herbs
Stir the fish sauce, lime juice and 1 teaspoon chile flakes together. Keep the prepared herbs and serving vegetables separate from the raw chicken area, and reserve extra chile for adjustment.
Cook the chicken safely and gently
Put the chicken and water in a wide skillet over medium heat. Break the meat into small, loose pieces and cook for 7–9 minutes without hard browning, stirring until no raw patches remain and the center reaches 74°C / 165°F on a food thermometer. Remove from the heat and rest for 2 minutes; during that pause, stir the fish-sauce mixture and set the shallots and rice powder beside the pan. The rest is included in the 45-minute total.
Season away from the heat
After the 2-minute rest, fold in the fish-sauce mixture, shallots and two-thirds of the toasted-rice powder. Taste for a clear balance of salty, sour and chile heat, adding more fish sauce, lime or chile only as needed.
Fold in the herbs and serve
When the chicken is warm rather than fiercely hot, fold in the scallions, cilantro and mint. Sprinkle with the remaining rice powder and serve immediately with the lettuce or cabbage and cucumber alongside; keep those crisp vegetables separate from the larb itself.
Four signals of a lively larb
Rice smells toasted
Stir constantly and watch the color move gradually from pale to deep gold. Burned grains make the entire powder bitter, so lower the heat if coloring races.
Chicken stays loose
Break up the meat as it cooks, but do not press it into a dry crust. A little pan liquid is useful because it carries lime, fish sauce and rice powder.
No single seasoning dominates
Fish sauce should register as savory salinity, lime as fresh acidity and chile as adjustable heat. Correct one element at a time in small additions.
Herbs remain green
Fold them through warm chicken just before service. The residual heat releases aroma without turning the mint and cilantro dark or limp.
Larb, laap and larp name a family, not one fixed bowl
The name appears in English as larb, laap and larp, among other transliterations. Larb is especially important in Lao cooking, where Tourism Laos describes minced chicken or fish larb with sticky rice as part of a common meal and calls it a hallmark of the cuisine. Closely related preparations are also integral to Isan cooking in northeastern Thailand. Recipes vary by place, household, protein and occasion, so this fully cooked chicken version does not stand in for every Lao or Isan form.
The shared structure matters more than enforcing one spelling: minced meat, assertive seasoning, aromatic herbs and toasted ground rice. Some versions use padaek, offal or different herb combinations. This accessible version uses fish sauce and widely available herbs while preserving the toasted-rice backbone.
Safe chicken can still be succulent
Ground chicken must reach 74°C / 165°F, measured with a food thermometer. Color alone is not a reliable safety test. A wide pan, moderate heat and a small amount of water let the meat reach that temperature evenly without needing to brown hard. Check in the thickest mound of chicken before removing the skillet from the heat.
Once the safety temperature is reached, stop cooking. The two-minute pause cools the pan slightly before lime and herbs arrive. That sequencing keeps the meat moist while meeting current USDA guidance for ground poultry. Keep raw-chicken utensils and surfaces separate from the herbs and serving vegetables.
Serve the crisp elements alongside
Lettuce or cabbage and cucumber cool the chile and provide contrast, but they are accompaniments rather than bulk ingredients folded into the larb. Spoon the warm mixture onto a plate and let diners combine each bite. Sticky rice is also a customary partner if you wish to make it separately.
The recipe yields roughly 850 g of seasoned larb plus about 430 g of serving vegetables, enough for four substantial portions. If serving as one dish among several, the same quantity can be shared more widely without changing the seasoning.
Research sources: Tourism Laos: food and larb context; Lao News Agency: cultural context and core larb elements; Hot Thai Kitchen: Isan chicken laab method cross-check; USDA FSIS: safe minimum poultry temperature.