Recently, I saw a restaurant menu that had “larb gai” on it and I was intrigued with the description. It was described as a traditional Thai chicken salad that was sweet, spicy, and sour — hitting all the good flavour spots. I knew I had to figure out how to re-create it at home as a vegetarian meal.
Larb is a minced meat salad that’s traditionally from Lao, and also popular in northern Thailand. It’s usually comprised of cooked ground pork or chicken, with Thai chillies, fish sauce, lime juice and fresh mint. It’s topped with crushed peanuts or crispy toasted rice, and served alongside pickled onions, sticky rice, and crunchy fresh lettuce leaves to scoop everything up with. It sounded exactly like the fresh, flavour-packed food that I wanted right now, and as it’s getting super hot outside it’s a good thing that making this didn’t require all that much work!
To make it vegetarian, my first choice was to use mushrooms. I used fresh shiitake mushrooms, because they’re hearty and “meaty” and can hold up the bold flavours of the sauces in this dish. Other mushroom varieties you can also try are portobello, or cremini. You can use dried shiitake mushrooms, but make sure you soak them for a bit to plump them up first. If you don’t like mushrooms, I’ve also seen versions of vegan larb that use cauliflower, or even tofu.
The mushrooms are first cooked until they’re crispy and golden brown — and the key to getting them right is to let them cook undisturbed. Add them to a hot pan with simmering oil, making sure not to crowd the pan, and let them sit. Once they’re browned on one side, toss them lightly and brown on the other side. To the mushrooms we added aromatics like garlic, ginger, and scallions. The soy sauce, red chillies, and lime juice perk it up, and the brown sugar balances it out.
Top the mushroom larb with tons of fresh mint, and lightly crushed toasted peanuts. You can serve it with crisp lettuce leaves to scoop it up, like lettuce wraps; or make it into a meal by serving it over rice like I did.
To make the ‘sticky rice,’ I boiled short-grain rice with a mix of water and coconut milk, and then brightened it up in the end with some lime juice. This coconut rice complements the flavours of the larb beautifully, and I definitely recommend making it.
When balanced right, this dish is addictive. It’s got sweet, salty, sour, spicy, meaty, umami, herby and pickle-y flavours. Serve the mushroom larb on top of the coconut rice; along with quick pickles, extra torn herbs (like mint, basil, coriander), and some sambal oelek on the side. And don’t forget the squeeze of lime.
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup short-grain rice
- Salt, to taste
- Lime juice, to taste
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 16 oz. Shiitake mushrooms (1 large box), chopped into pieces
- 3-4 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1” piece of ginger, grated
- 1-2 red chillies, seeds removed and thinly sliced (depending on spice tolerance)
- 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Salt, to taste
- ¼ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
- A large handful of mint leaves
- Quick pickles, lime wedges, sambal oelek
- To make the quick pickles (optional): In a small bowl, toss the onion and cucumber with rice vinegar. Keep aside while you assemble everything else.
- Make the rice: Combine water, coconut milk, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook covered, for about 15 minutes until the rice is cooked and the liquid has been absorbed.
- Take it off the heat and let the rice steam for another 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and mix in some lime juice.
- To make the mushroom larb, heat the oil in a large pan until you see it simmering. Add the quartered shiitake mushrooms and let it cook undisturbed, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Once the bottom side has browned, toss lightly and continue cooking until mushrooms have turned golden brown, about 7-8 minutes total.
- Add the scallions, garlic, ginger, and chilli and toss, cooking for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Next, add the soy sauce, brown sugar, and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a squeeze of lime if desired. Remove from heat and top with coarsely chopped roasted peanuts.
- To assemble the bowls, divide the coconut rice among 4 bowls. Top with the mushroom larb and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Serve alongside pickles, lime wedges etc.
If you liked this recipe, you might also like these tofu lettuce wraps.
Did you make this recipe?
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