When I'm running low on time and need to get dinner ready in less than 30 minutes, this is easily one of my weeknight go-to recipes. I start the rice first in my little rice cooker, and then the laarb is so quick once all of the other ingredients are prepped and chopped. Also, it's helpful that I always have lime, garlic, shallot, and ginger on hand to quickly whip up this flavor combo. If you don't have cucumbers, this tastes great with fresh, sweet bell peppers.
Don't have toasted coconut? No problem. The dish tastes just fine without the toasted coconut flakes. It just gives a yummy crunch if you're trying to be a little extra with your dish.
Going low-carb? I've definitely eaten laarb as a lettuce wrap.
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbsp minced lemongrass
½ sweet yellow onion (diced)
1 shallot (minced)
2 dashes fish sauce
1 tbsp neutral cooking oil (avocado or vegetable)
2 cups rice
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 thai bird chili (thinly sliced)
All the herbs (cucumbers, thai basil, mint, scallions)
Fish sauce vinaigrette
Click here to learn how to make my fish sauce vinaigrette.
1Cook the 2 cups of rice like you normally would cook it (aka for me, I pop it in the rice cooker). Set it and forget it!
2Heat up a nonstick pan with the neutral cooking oil. Wait until you can hear it sizzle, and toss in the sweet onion, ginger, shallot and lemongrass. Saute until the onions are translucent and it's very fragrant.
3Add the ground meat to the pan, breaking it up into smaller pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
4Add the minced garlic and the dashes of fish sauce. Be careful because the fish sauce is super salty. Add the thai bird chili (adjust amount based on how much spice you can handle)
5Once everything in the pan is cooked through, divide the amount onto four plates.
6Prep your garnishes and veggies. Thinly slice cucumbers, tear up fresh herbs, slice up your scallions, and start to plate your meat with your veggies.
7Toast the coconut in a clean nonstick pan on medium heat. Watch the pan carefully and constantly move around the pan. The sweetness of the coconut easily burns... Take it off the heat when the coconut starts to look toasted and golden.
8When your rice is done cooking, fluff up the rice with a fork and add the coconut oil.
9Serve the rice alongside the laarb and veggies. Spoon a generous serving of the fish sauce vinaigrette on top of the laarb. With this dish, I add extra shallot to the fish sauce vinaigrette. Garnish the rice with the toasted coconut, and serve it up!
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbsp minced lemongrass
½ sweet yellow onion (diced)
1 shallot (minced)
2 dashes fish sauce
1 tbsp neutral cooking oil (avocado or vegetable)
2 cups rice
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 thai bird chili (thinly sliced)
All the herbs (cucumbers, thai basil, mint, scallions)
Fish sauce vinaigrette
Directions
1Cook the 2 cups of rice like you normally would cook it (aka for me, I pop it in the rice cooker). Set it and forget it!
2Heat up a nonstick pan with the neutral cooking oil. Wait until you can hear it sizzle, and toss in the sweet onion, ginger, shallot and lemongrass. Saute until the onions are translucent and it's very fragrant.
3Add the ground meat to the pan, breaking it up into smaller pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
4Add the minced garlic and the dashes of fish sauce. Be careful because the fish sauce is super salty. Add the thai bird chili (adjust amount based on how much spice you can handle)
5Once everything in the pan is cooked through, divide the amount onto four plates.
6Prep your garnishes and veggies. Thinly slice cucumbers, tear up fresh herbs, slice up your scallions, and start to plate your meat with your veggies.
7Toast the coconut in a clean nonstick pan on medium heat. Watch the pan carefully and constantly move around the pan. The sweetness of the coconut easily burns... Take it off the heat when the coconut starts to look toasted and golden.
8When your rice is done cooking, fluff up the rice with a fork and add the coconut oil.
9Serve the rice alongside the laarb and veggies. Spoon a generous serving of the fish sauce vinaigrette on top of the laarb. With this dish, I add extra shallot to the fish sauce vinaigrette. Garnish the rice with the toasted coconut, and serve it up!
