Larb will not only fill your belly, it will teach you how to balance sweet, sour, salty, spicy, funky, and umami flavors. Larb hails from Laos and gets its addictiveness from the way it stitches together ground meat and crunchy, juicy textures. When you get the balance right, this dish sings, each bite creating a craving for more.
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
½
2
4
1
1
5
4
1
2
1
1
¼
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Toast peanuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until skins are slightly darkened and nuts are golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop or crush into small pieces.
Step 2
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high until shimmering. Add garlic and cook, smashing down on cloves to break into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until some parts are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Push garlic to one side of pan, then add pork and a pinch of salt to the other side. Cook, smashing and stirring pork and garlic together, until no clumps remain and meat is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook; as soon as you can’t see any pink, remove from heat. Mix in shallot, scallions, chiles, lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, and half of peanuts. Let larb cool slightly, then stir in mint. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Step 3
Transfer larb to a large bowl. Serve with cabbage, rice, lime wedges, and remaining peanuts.
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Leave a Review
Reviews (15)
Back to TopThis is a favorite "go to" for a quick, healthy, and super tasty dinner! I usually use ground turkey, and just chop up the cabbage into thin slices and toss it in at the end of cooking. It's a crowd pleaser!
Magnolia Mer
Seattle, WA
10/6/2021
Really good with ground chicken. I have made it many times and use Serrano chiles as they are easier to find in the Southwest. I love this as a FAST healthier alternative to takeout.
New mexico
7/19/2020
Excellent. Doubled the recipe, added toasted rice powder and a bunch of red pepper flakes + more fish sauce. Tasted exactly how it should and came together in under 30 minutes.
SrAsparagus
Oakland, CA
4/7/2020
This is so yummy! I make a boiled style of larb as well, this one is a bit cozier and richer, but they both have their place. For me, I like to add some cilantro and a little toasted rice powder; but the recipe is great as is. Good in cabbage or lettuce.
Anonymous
NYC
1/23/2020
We raise lamb and I'm always looking for great ways to prepare it. This larb recipe was indeed easy and very very tasty. We'll use our precious ground lamb on this again! I think it needs more saltiness and I didn't have hot enough peppers on hand. I had softball-sized tiny cabbages from the cabbage plants in the garden that just kept producing, these provided super cute bright purple cups.
Jill Pridgeon
Newport OR
10/29/2019
Delicious and easy. Used Chicken for health reasons, but would rather have used lamb. Still yummy.
Anonymous
Seattle
10/7/2019
Wowee! This is an amazing dish! I combined the mushroom recipe with this one using ground pork and was pleasantly surprised. I can't believe how easy it is. Definitely adding this into our dinner rotation. Thanks BA! 👍😍
thekiku
San Diego, CA
5/20/2019