Thai Beef Laab Recipe

Beef Laab (ลาบเนื้อ) is a bold, herb-forward beef salad from Isaan, Northeastern Thailand. Bright lime, fish sauce, toasted rice powder, chilies, and fresh herbs, all tossed together in one bowl. A quick and tasty dish perfect for beginner cooks!

Updated: This post now uses the traditional khua technique, with new photos to match. If you're looking for the grilled steak version you've made before, it's still here, just scroll to the bottom.

For a pork laab version see my Laab Moo (Isaan-Style Thai Pork Larb). It's a fast, weeknight-easy dish that still tastes like something out of an Isaan kitchen.

Jump to:

• What Is Beef Laab?
• Key Ingredients for Beef Larb
• How to Make Larb
• How Thai Larb Is Traditionally Enjoyed
• Kitchen Tips
• Steak-Style Variation (Grilled, Sliced Beef)
• Variations
• Storing Leftover
• More Isaan Recipes to Try
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Thai Beef Larb Recipe
• Mor Thai Recipes You'll Love

What Is Beef Laab?

Laab, also spelled larb or laap, is one of Isaan's most-loved dishes. Warm, fresh, and built on lime juice, fish sauce, toasted rice powder, and chilies. Traditionally the meat is sliced thin then hand-minced. Ground beef is what most of us reach for here in the U.S.

The technique that actually makes it laab is khua: the meat cooked gently in a pan with just a splash of water. That's different from Nam Tok, which uses grilled, sliced steak and shares a lot of the same herbs and seasonings. Easy dishes to mix up, even for cooks who grew up eating both.

Want the grilled version? Scroll below or check out my full Nam Tok Beef (Waterfall Salad) recipe.

Key Ingredients for Beef Larb

• Ground beef. Choose ground beef with a bit of fat, 80/20 works well. Traditional laab uses finely minced meat, and ground beef gets you there without a cleaver.
• Fish sauce. I used Squid brand fish sauce. Adjust yours as needed, as each fish sauce has a different level of saltiness. Soy sauce is not recommended.
• Fresh Lime juice. Lemon juice can be used as a substitute, but lime juice is best as it adds a sharp flavor to the salty flavor of the salad. 
• Shallot. Red onions are fine as a substitute, make sure to chop it into small pieces.
• Green onions. Use both the white and green parts both.
• Cilantro. Optional but common. Often times, culantro is used instead, but hard to find in the West.
• Mint leaves. An essential ingredient that adds a light and refreshing flavor to many Thai recipes. 
• Fresh chili pepper. Use as many as needed for your spice level tolerance.
• Dried chili flakes. For added spice and nutty flavor from the toasted chili flakes.
• MSG. A traditional in many Isaan kitchens. Used in very small amounts (½ ts) to enhance savory balance. Skip it or substitute with sugar if preferred. Read more about MSG in Thai Cooking here.
• Toasted Rice Powder (Khao Khua). An essential ingredient that adds nutty flavor and a lightly crunchy texture.
• Sugar. Optional. Use a small amount to round out the flavors. White, brown, or palm sugar work.

How to Make Larb

Step 1: Make Khao Khua. Toast uncooked rice, preferably Thai glutinous rice, in a small dry pan over medium heat. Stir often until the grains turn lightly golden and fragrant. Transfer to a spice grinder or use a small mortar and pestle, then grind into a coarse powder. Set aside.

Step 2: Cook the beef. Add the ground beef to a dry pan or pot over medium heat with a small splash of water, about 2 to 3 tablespoons. Break the meat apart as it cooks. Gently cooking it through until no pink remains. This is the khua technique, the water keeps the meat from drying out so it stays tender.

Step 3: Season while warm. Remove the pan from heat. While the beef is still warm, add the fish sauce, lime juice, and MSG directly to the meat. Toss to coat. The residual heat helps the seasoning absorb into the meat.

Step 4: Add the aromatics. Add the shallot, green onion and cilantro or cilantro to the warm beef and toss to combine. Add the fresh and dried chilies. Toss gently, keeping the herbs from bruising too much. (I like to add my mint with the toasted rice powder for maximum minty fresh taste) but you can add yours anytime with the aromatics.

Step 5: Finish with toasted rice powder. Sprinkle the toasted rice powder and more chili flakes (if you like yours spicy!) over the top. Toss once more, taste, and adjust with more fish sauce, lime, or chili as needed.

How Thai Larb Is Traditionally Enjoyed

Beef larb is rarely eaten on its own. It’s typically part of a larger Isaan food spread, family-style, that may include: Thai sticky rice, papaya salad or Som Tam, raw vegetables like cabbage, green beans, cucumber, and herbs, grilled meats or sausages.

Kitchen Tips

• Use enough lime juice and fish sauce to fully season the beef. In traditional larb, these ingredients also help “set” the meat when it’s lightly cooked.
• Toasted rice powder (Khao Khua) can be found at Asian markets, or you can make it at home by dry-roasting raw rice until golden and grinding it into a coarse powder.
• Fresh herbs matter. Mint is essential, and green onion, shallot, and cilantro add depth. If you can find culantro, it’s a great addition. More about Thai herbs guide here.
• Adjust the heat to your liking by adding more or fewer chilies or dry ground chili flakes (Prik Bon).
• For serving, larb can be eaten with sticky rice, raw vegetables, or spooned into lettuce leaves for a lighter, wrap-style option.

Steak-Style Variation (Grilled, Sliced Beef)

This is the old version: If you've made this recipe before, there's a good chance you made it this way: thick-cut steak, marinated, seared or grilled, then sliced thin. It's how this page has looked for most of its life, and reading through the reviews, it's clearly worked for a lot of you. Ribeye, London broil, New York strip, or any of your favorite steak.

Technically, this method sits closer to nam tok than to traditional laab, since laab is built on meat cooked in a pan with a little water, not grilled. I want the main recipe on this page to reflect that correctly. But this steak version is still a real, well-loved way to eat these flavors, and it's not going anywhere. Here's how to make it:

To make it: Lightly marinate 1 pound of thick-cut steak (top London broil or ribeye work well) in 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and 1 teaspoon sugar for a few minutes. Sear in a hot pan or grill for a few minutes per side to your preferred doneness.

Rest the meat for 8 to 10 minutes, then slice thin against the grain. Toss the sliced beef with the same herbs, remaining fish sauce (1 tablespoon), lime juice (2 tablespoons), sugar (1 teaspoon), and 2 tablespoons toasted rice powder as the main recipe.

Serve it the same way as the Khua version with sticky rice, and fresh herbs.

For the full version of this grilled technique, done properly as its own dish, see my Nam Tok Beef (Waterfall Salad).

Variations

• Laab Gai, chicken larb . A more lean version using ground chicken. Same bold flavors, different protein.
• Pork Larb: Use pork shoulder or pork butt for a slightly sweeter, more tender result.
• Vegetarian Larb: Try a tofu-based larb for a vegan option.

Storing Leftover

Beef laab is best enjoyed fresh and Thais barely have leftovers. However, if you do have leftovers, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Keep in mind the herbs will soften and lose freshness over time.

More Isaan Recipes to Try

If you enjoyed this Thai beef larb, here are a few other Isaan and Thai recipes that are commonly served alongside it or share similar bold, herb-forward flavors:

• Sticky Rice (Traditional Thai Method): A staple of Isaan meals and the best way to enjoy larb the traditional way.
• Crying Tiger Steak. with Nam Jim Jaew: Grilled beef served with a spicy dipping sauce that uses many of the same herbs and seasonings as larb.
• Sai Krok Isaan (Thai Isaan Sausage): A fermented sausage often served with fresh herbs, chilies, and sticky rice.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Mor Thai Recipes You'll Love

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