Fish Larb

By Ali Slagle

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 5(549)
Notes: Read community notes

Larb, a boldly flavored Thai dish, often combines ground chicken, ground pork or other ground meat with dried chile, scallions, shallots, fish sauce, lime, fresh herbs and nutty toasted rice, which you can make yourself or find at Asian markets. The dish also works with crumbled tofu, mushrooms, cauliflower or fish. In this quick-cooking fish version, fish fillets are pan-seared until cooked through, then broken into bite-sized pieces and tossed with the rest of the ingredients. Serve with sticky rice, small wedges of salted green cabbage, cucumber spears or lettuce leaves.

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1½pounds firm fish fillets, like salmon, striped bass, snapper or haddock
Kosher salt and black pepper
1tablespoon canola oil, plus more as needed
1tablespoon fish sauce, plus more as needed
1teaspoon granulated sugar
3tablespoons raw (uncooked) jasmine rice (or 2 tablespoons store-bought toasted-rice powder)
1small red onion or 1 large shallot, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
2teaspoons red-pepper flakes
½cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
¼cup fresh mint leaves, torn if large
2 or 3scallions, thinly sliced (about ¼ cup)
3tablespoons lime juice (from about 2 limes), plus more as needed

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Pat fillets dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Heat a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet over high. When the pan is hot, add the oil. Working in batches, if necessary, cook the fillets skin-side down. (To prevent splattering, lay the portion of the fillet closest to you into the pan first, so that any oil will splatter in the direction away from you as you set down the rest of the fillet.) Press down on the fish with a spatula for 20 seconds, then lower heat to medium and cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 3
Carefully flip fillets and cook until cooked through, about 90 seconds. (Time will vary depending on the thickness of the fish.) Add additional oil if needed for a second batch.
Step 4
Transfer the fish to a cutting board. Remove the skin if desired, then break the fish into bite-size chunks with a knife or fork. Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in the fish sauce and sugar. Set aside to cool slightly.
Step 5
While the fish cools, make the toasted rice powder, if using raw jasmine rice: Wipe out the skillet and return it to medium heat. Toast the rice, stirring frequently, until it starts to smell nutty and turns golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, cool slightly, then process into a powder.
Step 6
Add the red onion and red-pepper flakes to the fish and stir gently. Add the cilantro, mint, scallions and lime juice and stir gently to combine. Sprinkle with the toasted rice powder and season to taste with more fish sauce and lime juice as needed.

Ratings

5 out of 5

549 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

Jojo4 years ago

Added diced peanuts per poster’s suggestion and it made the dish come together. Definitely adds needed texture. Tasty and satisfying dish

Bill4 years ago

Made this with Sockeye salmon, served it over a bed of lettuce and a side of jasmine and it turned out great. Moist, flavorful, and fresh. Diced peanuts might make an interesting topping in addition to or in place of the toasted rice.

Claire2 years ago

Laab is a Lao dish, not Thai. You also might as well order khao khua (toasted sticky rice powder) as it traditionally is made with a specific type of rice with makrut lime and lemongrass which is hard to replicate in North America. This is probably the most important ingredient in the dish.

Dan3 years ago

Fantastic flavors. Don’t skimp on the acid from the lime or a little extra salt. Will definitely be making this again, and my only recommendation would be to combine the fish sauce, sugar, chili flakes, and lime into a sort of dressing separately from the salmon and herbs so you only have to dress it and mix once.

Ali4 years ago

Yes, that sounds great—just remember that the lime will continue to cook the shrimp, so undercook the shrimp a smidge before dressing them.

JP3 years ago

Very tasty. I used skin-on salmon, removed the skin, then re-fried it again to crumble on top as a crispy topping -- soooo good.

Ellen4 years ago

This was easy, delicious, and didn't care much that I wasn't very precise in my measurements. I did splurge on expensive fish- red snapper- but it was worth it, because the cooking directions were perfect.

Nat2 years ago

Awesome!!! I made this with shrimp and just put sesame seeds on top instead of using the toasted rice. Fiancé and I both loved it; definitely adding to the weeknight rotation.

bcrow2 years ago

Spot on recipe and absolutely delicious. I used Chinook salmon that I’d caught and it was a perfect inclusion. I’d agree with Dan in the comments to make a dressing of the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and chile flakes and gently toss once instead of separating them out and tossing multiple times. I will definitely make this on repeat!

Blair1 year ago

This recipe is fantastic. Highly recommend buying the toasted rice powder vs making it as it makes this recipe come together in minutes.

L3 months ago

I love this dish. I agree with adding peanuts at the end and serving with rice and/or lettuce leaves.

CCR5 months ago

This recipe is fantastic and in our weekly rotation- used a small hot red chilli, the toasted rice powder on top is great and easy to make- a favorite dish in our household!

Stephen Reichard6 months ago

Not sure how this got a five star review. It's dry and overly spiced. We will not be making it again.

Krisu6 months ago

After seeing another note calling the toasted rice powder "Khao Khua," I found these very helpful instructions from Serious Eats: https://www.seriouseats.com/toasted-rice-powder-recipe That author says that sticky rice (or "sweet" or "glutinous") is the way to go instead of jasmine.

jgivenshtx10 months ago

I made this with salmon, exactly as written. Next time, I’ll add more sugar because I like my larb sweeter, and I think I’ll add fresh chilies. But this was so simple and fresh and delicious. A great staple that goes outside the box of your standard fish recipes.

Blair1 year ago

This recipe is fantastic. Highly recommend buying the toasted rice powder vs making it as it makes this recipe come together in minutes.

James B.1 year ago

This was delish. Might try with fresh chilis next time instead of crushed red pepper flakes?

Julie D.1 year ago

This is a great recipe to use with pollock. I like spicy so I used 4 small Vietnamese red chilus plus one large jalapeno, finely minced. Yum!

Julis Jewels1 year ago

Absolutely delicious!!

Eliza1 year ago

Delicious! Followed recipe as stated. Used tilapia as my fish.

oscar1 year ago

Use fried onions instead of shallots. also diced peanuts.

Nat2 years ago

Awesome!!! I made this with shrimp and just put sesame seeds on top instead of using the toasted rice. Fiancé and I both loved it; definitely adding to the weeknight rotation.

mhudson2 years ago

One of my favorite NYT recipes ever! You could leave out the whole toasted rice situation, it wouldn’t make much difference. I made it using salmon and cooked the skin until crispy after removing it. Yum!

MaryM2 years ago

OMG. Made this tonight with red snapper. Ordered the khao khua (thanks Claire) online. Used a jalapeño instead of red pepper flakes. This is our new favorite fish dish!

kay RI2 years ago

Is rice powder the same as rice flour?

Private notes are only visible to you.