5-Ingredient Quick Chicken Larb Ready in 20 Minutes
Tangy, herby, done in 20 min — no chopping marathon required.
It's a weeknight and you want something that feels fresh and exciting but you have zero bandwidth for a complicated recipe. This quick chicken larb delivers the punchy lime-and-fish-sauce flavor of the classic Thai-Lao salad using just five ingredients you can grab fast. Ground chicken cooks in under 10 minutes, the dressing comes together in the pan, and a handful of fresh mint ties it all together. Expect bright, savory, slightly spicy flavors. Serve it over rice or with butter lettuce cups — either way, dinner is on the table before you've had time to talk yourself into ordering takeout.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb ground chicken
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice — about 2 limes
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes — or more to taste
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves — loosely packed, roughly torn
- 4 unit scallions — thinly sliced — counts as the 5th ingredient
- 2 tbsp neutral oil — vegetable or avocado oil
- 2 cup cooked white rice — for serving; use a microwave pouch to keep things fast
Method
- 1 Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 1 minute.
- 2 Add the ground chicken and break it up with a spatula. Cook, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains and the edges start to brown, about 7–8 minutes.
- 3 Remove the skillet from the heat. Immediately add the fish sauce, lime juice, and red pepper flakes. Stir well to combine — the residual heat will bloom the flavors without burning the dressing.
- 4 Taste and adjust: more lime for brightness, more fish sauce for salt, more red pepper flakes for heat.
- 5 Fold in the scallions and mint leaves. Stir just until the mint wilts slightly, about 30 seconds.
- 6 Serve immediately over rice or in lettuce cups.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Replace ground chicken with crumbled extra-firm tofu or finely chopped king oyster mushrooms. Use soy sauce or tamari instead of fish sauce to keep it plant-based.
- Faster swap — Buy pre-cooked microwavable rice and use a squeeze bottle of lime juice to skip all prep. Total time drops to about 12 minutes.
- Turkey substitution — Ground turkey works perfectly here — same cook time, slightly leaner, and widely available. Avoid extra-lean blends or the larb will turn dry.
Notes
Classic larb uses toasted rice powder (khao khua) for texture and a subtle nutty flavor. To make it: toast 2 tbsp uncooked jasmine rice in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden, about 4 minutes, then grind in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Sprinkle over the finished dish. It's worth the extra 5 minutes if you have them. Fish sauce brands vary in saltiness — Red Boat and Tiparos are both widely available and reliable.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet (12-inch) — A wide surface area lets the ground chicken brown instead of steam, which adds flavor and speeds up cooking.
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