Larb is a traditional meat-based salad from Laos. The dish is also quite popular in the North-East region of Thailand which borders Laos along the Mekong River. Larb is normally served at room temperature. It features stir-fried mince, lime juice and is seasoned with chopped up fresh herbs, like mint and coriander. Today we’re going to cook the plant-based version of the dish!

It sounds quite complicated but cooking the Thai larb is super easy and quick! So far everyone I cooked this dish for loved it. If you got fresh chili, mint and coriander at home, I would definitely recommend to add them to the dish. But as it also tastes great without these herbs I’ll show you the less effort recipe. This recipe is for two people.

Have you been to Cambodia? Read more about how easy it is to be vegan there!

Ingredients for vegan Thai larb

Cooking steps

1. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the packaging.
2. While the rice is cooking chop the ginger and garlic and mix them together with some olive oil and salt. Cut the lime in half. Wash the lettuce, separate the big outer leaves and shred the inner core.
3. Heat a large pan, best would be a wok, with 1 tbsp sesame oil 5 minutes before the rice is finished.
4. Once the pan is hot, add the mince and cook for 4-5 minutes until brown.
5. Add the rice and ginger-garlic paste to the browned mince and cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Then add 1,5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, juice of 1/2 lime, shredded lettuce and herbs. Cut the remaining lime into two wedges.
7. Give it a good mix up and then serve the filling on the lettuce leaves & lime on the side.
8. Enjoy your vegan Thai larb!