Laotian or Thai Larb is a kind of salad, typically made with minced meat which is full of flavors and textures from a combination of fish sauce, chili flakes, fresh lime juice, toasted sticky rice and freshness from the assorted herbs.

This Laotian inspired vegetarian recipe has the usual deep flavors with added fresh lemongrass and kaffir leaves for an extra punch.

Main Ingredients

The key ingredient that yields an irresistible aroma is roasted rice powder. This ingredient is available at most Asian supermarkets but it makes a world of difference if you make it fresh at home, and it could be made ahead of time.

In a medium hot frying pan, heat 1 cup of uncooked glutinous rice. The rice should be spread out in a single layer for even cooking. When it starts yielding an aroma, stir the rice to roast all sides evenly. The whole cooking time should take around 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat, but make sure to carefully monitor to avoid burning. When the rice grains turn golden brown (but not too dark), remove from heat into a bowl and let cool. When complete cool, you can crush the grains into powder with a mortar and pestle, or with a spice grinder or Magic Bullet. For this recipe you will only need 1/4 cup of roast rice powder. Put the rest in a closed jar and it should keep for a month. There are many recipes using roast rice powder, for example over grilled meats or in dipping sauce.

Toast the raw glutinous rice over medium heat

Grind the toasted glutinous rice to get a grainy powder

To add another layer of crunchy texture, I like to sprinkle on top of the larb, toasted pine nuts. In the same frying pan, toast the nuts till golden and set aside.

The other main aromatic is lemongrass. This could be found frozen in most Asian stores. Some supermarkets also sell fresh lemongrass. These beautiful lemongrass are home-grown by my DIL. Use only the tender part, around 1/3 of the stalk, near the root.

Roughly slice the lemongrass and finely chop them, manually or with a grinder or Magic Bullet.

The main ingredient for the Vegetarian Larb is tofu. To achieve the best texture, get the pressed baked hard tofu found in most supermarkets refrigerated area. This is an example of pressed hard tofu, you could use any brand.

The beauty of this Vegetarian Larb recipe is that you can use any other vegetables in addition to the above key ingredients. This recipe includes shiitake mushrooms, red peppers, leeks (or shallots) and edamame. You can substitute with other vegetables such as corn, diced water chestnut, celery and carrots etc.

The Sauce

In the regular larb recipe, the dressing is made with fish sauce, fresh lime juice and palm sugar. For the vegetarian version, I’m using vegetarian fish sauce, fresh lime, soy sauce or Golden Mountain sauce, and palm sugar. If you can’t find Vegetarian Fish Sauce or Golden Mountain sauce, use regular soy sauce. But most important is to use freshly squeezed lime juice.

The Garnish

A good larb is served with fresh herbs, it could be mint, basil, coriander or other herbs. These beautiful herbs are also home grown.

Once you get all the ingredients ready, it’s a breeze to cook and pull everything together for a really delicious vegetarian meal.