Thai
Laab Ped (Duck Larb, Northern Style)
The northern Thai version of larb — fundamentally different from the Isaan larb (Entry T-09) in its spice mixture (a dry-roasted paste of dried chillies, galangal, lemongrass, and shrimp paste known as phrik laab), which transforms the preparation from a lime-dominated fresh preparation into a deeper, earthier, more complex one. Northern larb uses the blood of the animal as a binding element in the traditional versions; contemporary versions use the same spice mixture without blood. Thompson devotes considerable attention in *Thai Food* to this distinction between the northern and Isaan schools.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
Four in town · three shipped · four elsewhere in British Columbia · five not yet within reach.
How the 16 are reached
- In town
- 4 · lime juice, shallots, spring onions, fresh mint
- Shipped to you
- 3 · dried chillies, dried lemongrass, sticky rice
- Elsewhere in British Columbia
- 4 · dried galangal, coriander seeds, shrimp paste, fresh coriander
- Not yet within reach
- 5 · dried kaffir lime zest, dried coriander root, toasted rice powder, dried chilli flakes, fresh vegetables
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the phrik laab
8
1 tbsp
1 tbsp
1 tsp
Dried kaffir lime zest
dry-toasted individually
Not yet within reach of Okanagan Falls · each reach is counted
1 tsp
Dried coriander root
dry-toasted individually
Not yet within reach of Okanagan Falls · each reach is counted
1 tsp
White peppercorns
dry-toasted individually
Your own market
1 tsp
Coriander seeds
dry-toasted individually
½ tsp
Cumin
dry-toasted individually
Your own market
1 tsp
Shrimp paste
toasted, then incorporated into the ground spice powder
500 g
Duck
minced
Your own market
2 tbsp
Fish sauce
Your own market
1 tbsp
2 tbsp
Toasted rice powder
see Entry T-09
Not yet within reach of Okanagan Falls · each reach is counted
4
3
10 g
Fresh coriander
roughly torn
10 g
1 tsp
Dried chilli flakes
Not yet within reach of Okanagan Falls · each reach is counted
250 g
200 g
Fresh vegetables
to serve alongside, such as cabbage, snake beans, or cucumber
Not yet within reach of Okanagan Falls · each reach is counted
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 Okanagan Falls →Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Toast each phrik laab component — dried chillies, dried galangal, dried lemongrass, dried kaffir lime zest, dried coriander root, white peppercorns, coriander seeds, and cumin — individually in a dry pan, so each spice releases its own fragrance without the faster-toasting ones scorching the slower ones. Toast the shrimp paste separately, turning it until it smells nutty and loses its sharp, raw edge. The finished spices smell dry and aromatic, with no raw edge remaining.
2
Grind all toasted spices to a fine powder, so the finished larb coats the meat evenly rather than delivering bursts of coarse fragment. Incorporate the toasted shrimp paste, working it through until you see no streaks and the powder is a uniform, dark, finely textured mass throughout.
3
Cook the minced duck in a dry pan over direct heat, stirring, until just past raw, so the meat stays succulent enough to absorb the spice paste without the grainy dryness that comes from overcooking. The meat should carry no pink and have begun to colour slightly at the edges, but must not be overdried.
4
While the duck is still warm in the pan, add the phrik laab powder generously, so the residual heat opens the spice and drives it into every grain of meat rather than sitting on the surface. This is where the dish lives or dies: the quantity must be sufficient that the paste's spice depth — dark, earthy, complex — registers as the primary flavour of the preparation; an underdosed batch is indistinguishable from Isaan larb. Toss thoroughly so every grain of meat is coated and the spice fragrance blooms in the residual heat.
5
Season with fish sauce and the small quantity of lime juice, adding the lime last so you can hear and smell when the acid sharpens the spice without tipping the balance toward brightness. The acid plays a secondary role here — it sharpens without dominating. Taste: the spice paste should lead; the lime should not.
6
Add the toasted rice powder and toss to combine, so the powder draws off the last of the pan moisture and binds the mixture into the faintly cohesive, slightly grainy texture that distinguishes northern larb from a wet stir-fry. The texture should be perceptible on the fingertips — neither dusty nor slick.
7
Add sliced shallots, spring onion, coriander, mint, and dried chilli flakes, folding once or twice only, so the herbs stay visibly intact and release their fragrance into the warm meat rather than bruising and going dark. Their perfume should rise immediately when you fold them in.
8
Serve at once alongside cooked sticky rice and fresh vegetables. The larb should be warm, not hot; the herbs should not have wilted.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Duck minced to order from a whole bird; phrik laab components sourced dried and whole from a northern Thai or specialist supplier, then toasted and ground to order on the day of preparation.
02
Estate — Good-quality minced duck from a reliable butcher; dried spice components sourced whole and ground fresh, with shrimp paste of known provenance.
03
Market — Supermarket minced duck; pre-mixed phrik laab powder purchased from a Thai grocer — acceptable if the powder is not stale. Check aroma before use.
04
House — Minced chicken or pork substituted for duck; phrik laab spice paste approximated from available dried spices. The dish remains coherent in the northern style, though the depth of the traditional preparation is diminished.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. Each spice smells dry and aromatic after toasting, with the raw edge entirely gone before the next is begun.
◇Sight. The ground phrik laab powder is uniform and dark, with no coarse fragments remaining.
◇Sight. The minced duck is just past pink at the centre with faint colour at the edges before the spice paste is added.
◇Smell. Once the phrik laab paste is folded through the warm duck, the spice fragrance blooms fully — dark, earthy, and complex.
◇Touch. After the rice powder is added, the mixture has a faintly grainy, cohesive texture rather than a wet or loose one.
◇Where it lives or dies. The phrik laab powder must be added in a quantity generous enough that its dark, earthy spice depth is unambiguously the primary flavour of the dish; underdosing it produces a preparation indistinguishable from Isaan larb.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sake
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance
The hands behind the plate.
Komatsu Japanese Market · Kelowna
Kelowna · Lime juice, Shallots, Spring onions
Wismettac
Vancouver · Dried chillies, Dried lemongrass, Sticky rice
Sechelt Farmers' & Artisans' Market (Sat)
Sechelt · Coriander seeds, Fresh coriander
SuperValu Gibsons
Gibsons, B.C. V0N 1V7 · Dried galangal, Shrimp paste