• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Craving Tasty logo
  • Entrées
    • Beef Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Sausage Recipes
    • Fish & Seafood Recipes
    • Lamb Recipes
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Pork Recipes
    • Turkey Recipes
  • Soups & Salads
    • Soup Recipes
    • Chili Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
  • Sides & Vegetables
    • Side Dishes
    • Vegetable Dishes
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Entrées
  • Sides & Vegetables
  • Soups & Salads
  • Party Food & Appetizers
  • Extras
×
Home » Soups & Salads » Salad Recipes

Larb Gai (Thai Chicken Larb Salad)

Mar 14, 2019 · 6 Comments

Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our Privacy Policy for details.

Thai chicken larb on a grey speckled plate - chicken, fresh herbs and chile peppers.Thai chicken larb - a delicious salad that consists of flavorful minced chicken as well as fresh herbs and vegetables. Full of Thai flavors, this dish is one of my top favorite Asian dishes.  It's tasty, light, healthy and colorful. My version of the salad is simplified to make it super easy to make with the ingredients that are readily available.

Larb is one of my favorite dishes to order at local Thai places when I eat out. That said, larb is so easy to make at home that going out for it almost makes no sense. Another Thai dish that you can quickly make at home is tom yum soup. Have you tried making tom yum soup yet? If not, do it! One of signature Thai dishes, this soup is also a breeze to make at home.

What is larb gai?

Larb gai, or chicken larb, is a dish of chopped chicken, mint, basil, coriander, red chilies and shallots served with lime juice dressing. (The dish is sometimes spelled laab, laap, lahb, larp, lob or lop.) Larb can also be made with beef, pork and seafood.

How to make chicken larb?

Traditionally, chicken larb is made by cooking ground chicken in a hot wok with a couple of tablespoons of water, breaking up lumps, until cooked through. The warm chicken is then mixed with other ingredients, except garnishes, and roasted rice powder. After that, the mixture is spooned onto a serving plate and surrounded with mint, lettuce and cucumbers, and served with rice.

In this recipe, however, I omitted the roasted rice powder as it adds a considerable amount of time to the recipe and added crispy shallots. The shallots add a ton of flavor and take only a few minutes to make. I also prefer cooking minced chicken with a little bit of olive oil instead of water for more flavor.

Thai larb gai - fried ground chicken, shredded cabbage, and fresh herbs on a round plate.

How to make roasted rice powder?

If you insist on adding it, you can buy roasted rice powder it or make your own. It's always best to make your own as roasted rice loses its flavor after a couple of weeks. To make roasted rice powder, roast 5 ounces of long-grain Thai or Lao sticky rice in a pan until golden brown, about 15 minutes, then grind in a mortar or a food processor. 

How to serve this dish?

  • Larb gai is traditionally served with long-grain Thai or Lao sticky rice.
  • My preferred way to serve chicken larb is as a salad, along with shredded romaine lettuce, carrots, red onions or shallots, and scallions. You can also add sliced cucumbers.
  • Instead of shredding lettuce, you can use whole leaves to make chicken larb wraps.

Tips for making chicken larb

  • Thai chili peppers, also called bird's eye chili peppers, are very hot. To temper their heat down, cut them in half and remove membranes and seeds before slicing. This will result in mild heat.
  • If you cannot find Thai chiles, you can use a tiny bit of Thai chili powder, or fresh serrano or jalapeno peppers.
  • If you don't like spicy food, you can easily omit chilies. The salad will taste just as good without them.
  • You can substitute ground chicken for ground pork, beef, duck or turkey.
  • You can even use leftover roast chicken or beef. Just chop it up and warm up in a skillet with a little bit of oil.
  • Instead of minced chicken, try chopped 10-minute pan-fried chicken breast or my broiled chicken breast. Both are delicious and are quick to prepare.
  • Traditionally, this dish uses Chinese cabbage and Thai basil which can be hard to find sometimes, depending on the time of year or where you live. Personally, I use romaine lettuce and regular basil with great success. I actually prefer romaine lettuce to Chinese cabbage.
  • The essence of this salad is the variety of herbs. Don't omit them! The combination of mint, cilantro and basil make this dish rock.

To view of larb gai - plate filled with shredded chicken, cabbage leaves, mint, basil and coriander leaves, sliced scallions and Thai red peppers, and seasoned with Thai dressing.

Thai larb gai - fried ground chicken, shredded cabbage, and fresh herbs on a round plate.

Larb Gai (Thai Chicken Larb Salad)

5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Asian, Thai
Keyword: chicken salad, larb gai
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 265kcal
Author: Victor

Ingredients

For the chicken

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (ground or chopped with a large knife; you can also use store-bought minced chicken)
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt (plus more to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil (for frying; one for chicken and one for shallots)

For the salad

  • 1 cup mint leaves (thinly sliced)
  • 1 carrot (medium, peeled and shredded)
  • 12 cups romaine lettuce (or Chinese cabbage; cut into thin strips)
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves (or Thai basil; thinly sliced)
  • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves (thinly sliced)

For the dressing

  • 6 Tbsp lime juice (freshly squeezed)
  • 4 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 4 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 4 Thai chilies (stemmed and sliced on the diagonal; membrane and seeds removed for mild heat)

For the Garnish

  • 2 shallots (large; thinly sliced)
  • 4 Tbsp green onions (thinly sliced)
  • 12 sprigs cilantro leaves
  • 6 mint leaves
  • 1 Tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts (optional; coarsely chopped)

Instructions

  • Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a fork. Set aside.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and saute until cooked through, stirring frequently and breaking up lumps, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to two serving plates, splitting equally.
  • In the same skillet, fry 2/3 of the thinly sliced shallots over medium-high heat. You may need to add a little bit of oil to the skillet if needed. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Combine the remaining (uncooked) sliced shallots, lettuce, carrot, mint, cilantro and basil in a bowl and gently toss to mix well, adding the dressing a little at a time.
  • Transfer the salad to the serving plates. Sprinkle the peanuts on top if desired. Garnish with fresh cilantro and mint leaves, green onion and crispy fried shallots and serve.

Notes

Thai chilies can be sliced or minced, depending on your preference.

Nutrition

Calories: 265kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 1802mg | Potassium: 890mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 16125IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 122mg | Iron: 3mg

 

More Salad Recipes

  • Cherry tomato salad with heirloom cherry tomatoes
    Cherry Tomato Salad with Mint & Cilantro Vinaigrette
  • Chili Mayo Cucumber Salad
    Chili Mayo Cucumber Salad
  • Heirloom Tomato Salad with Burrata Cheese and White Balsamic Vinegar
    Heirloom Tomato Salad
  • Summer fusilli pasta salad
    Summer Fusilli Pasta Salad

Subscribe to Craving Tasty Email Newsletter

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




     

  1. Shan M says

    July 15, 2024 at 7:03 pm

    5 stars
    Great salad! Instant winner in our home.

    Reply
    • victor says

      July 19, 2024 at 9:26 am

      Enjoy!!!

      Reply
  2. Shanda Mapes says

    July 15, 2024 at 7:02 pm

    5 stars
    Great salad! Instant winner in our home.

    Reply
  3. Mary says

    April 02, 2020 at 9:49 am

    Hello. If using ground chicken, how much would we need? 1lb?

    Reply
    • victor says

      April 05, 2020 at 4:46 pm

      Mary, 1 - 1.5 lbs will be good.

      Reply
  4. Maria says

    March 21, 2019 at 8:04 pm

    5 stars
    Made this chicken larb salad today and it was an instant hit. I wouldn't change a thing other than skipping hot peppers as we don't like spicy food. Will be making more of this salad soon.

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I am Victor and welcome to my blog dedicated to simple and delicious everyday food... Read more...

Subscribe to Craving Tasty Email Newsletter

Categories

  • Entrées (147)
    • Beef Recipes (29)
    • Chicken Recipes (66)
    • Fish & Seafood Recipes (12)
    • Pasta Recipes (2)
    • Pork Recipes (20)
    • Sausage Recipes (2)
    • Turkey Recipes (7)
    • Vegetable Dishes (14)
  • Extras (18)
    • How To (16)
    • Recipe Roundups (1)
    • Rubs and Seasonings (1)
  • Party Food & Appetizers (12)
    • Appetizers (7)
    • Mixed Drinks (5)
  • Sides & Vegetables (15)
    • Side Dishes (15)
  • Soups & Salads (31)
    • Chili Recipes (1)
    • Salad Dressing Recipes (1)
    • Salad Recipes (17)
    • Soup Recipes (12)

Copyright © 2025 · Craving Tasty · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Disclosures