PProvenance
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Cooking in
Bowen Island · Metro Vancouver
Nearest city · Vancouver Change
Thai · Northeastern Thailand

Larb

Larb (Thai meat salad) is minced protein — pork, chicken, beef, or duck — dressed with lime juice, fish sauce, dried chilli, shallots, coriander, and toasted ground rice powder. The toasted rice powder is not optional — it provides a nutty, slightly coarse texture and acts as a thickening agent in the dressing. Larb is the national dish of Laos and a staple of northeastern Thai (Isan) cooking.

‹Swipe for the next dish›
Serves4
Total18 min
Within reach9of 10 in Bowen Island

Nine in town · one not yet within reach.

How the 10 are reached
In town
9 · ground pork, shallots, garlic, fish sauce, fresh lime juice, vegetable oil, thai bird's eye chilies, cilantro leaves, tellicherry black pepper
Not yet within reach
1 · roasted ground rice
Cook
‹ Previous · Laab Ped (Duck Larb, Northern Style)|Next · Larb Gai (Minced Chicken Salad — Isaan) ›
I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

300 g
3
4 cloves
3 tablespoons
2 tablespoons
15 ml
2
Thai bird's eye chilies
minced
In town · Bosa Foods · Vancouver →
25 g
fresh mint leaves
chopped
Your own market
25 g
15 g
roasted ground rice
khao kua
Not yet within reach of Bowen Island · each reach is counted
2
scallions
sliced thin
Your own market
Tellicherry black pepper
to taste
In town · Bosa Foods · Vancouver →
Lettuce leaves
for serving
Your own market

Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.

The larder of Bowen Island →

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

1
Heat oil in wok over high heat; add shallots and garlic, bloom 30 seconds until fragrant.
2
Add ground pork; break apart with spatula and stir-fry 5–6 minutes until cooked through and no pink remains.
3
Remove from heat; add fish sauce and lime juice, stirring to incorporate.
From the canon — Fish sauce — nam pla — is the universal salt of the Thai kitchen. Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): Selection and Use →
4
Fold in minced chilies, mint, cilantro, and roasted ground rice; toss until evenly distributed.
5
Transfer to serving plate; scatter scallions on top and finish with cracked Tellicherry pepper.
6
Serve warm or room temperature with whole lettuce leaves for wrapping.
III

Sensory Tests

◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where larb lives or dies is the dressing temperature — the lime juice and fish sauce must be applied while the meat is still warm. The warmth opens the cell structure of the meat and allows the dressing to penetrate, rather than coating only the surface. Cold larb tastes of undressed meat with dressing on top; warm-dressed larb is unified from within.
IV

Cross-Cuisine Parallels

Vietnamese bo luc lac (beef salad with lime dressing
a similar dressed-meat-salad tradition)
Korean hoe muchim (raw fish salad with gochujang
related in spirit as a dressed protein with fresh herbs)
Indonesian urap (coconut and herb dressed salad
Southeast Asian fresh herb dressing parallels).
V

What to Pour

Pouring for British Columbia · ·

The pairing
Kiku-Masamune Kimoto Junmai
Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewing · Nada
Bridge — 'dried mushroom' in the pour meets the dish's savour underneath; depth answering depth.
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Sake
From British Columbia
Ella Premiere Sparkling Brut Rosé (NV)
Maverick Estate Winery · Golden Mile Bench
Bridge — 'light yeasty aromas' in the pour meets the dish's savour underneath; depth answering depth.
Maverick Estate Winery · Oliver →
Sparkling wine
Without alcohol
Pure Amazake (Made to Order)
Amazake Co.
Bridge — deep umami in the pour meets the dish's savour underneath; depth answering depth.
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Traditional

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

The whole pairing
VI

Origin & Lineage

Northeastern Thailand (Isan) and Laos. Larb is considered the national dish of Laos and is deeply embedded in Isan-Lao cultural identity. Traditional larb in Isan may use raw or lightly cooked meat (larb dip) — the fully cooked version is the standard now served internationally.

The working kitchen
Cost this recipe
Part of The Profession · ingredient costs and your margin
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HACCP brief
Part of The Profession · the food-safety plan
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Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Bosa Foods · Vancouver
Vancouver · shallots, garlic, fish sauce
→
Tesfa Farms · Langley
Langley · ground pork
→
← PreviousLaab Ped (Duck Larb, Northern Style)One standard · no exceptions