Authentic Vegan Larb Salad with Mushrooms & Tofu
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Today, we’re talking about one of my favorite things ever: Thai/Lao vegan larb. And it’s about time.
As I ate my way through Thailand and Laos, I couldn’t get enough of the coconut curries, the spicy stir-fries, and the tangy soups. (You can relate, I’m sure.) But nothing captured my attention (and my heart) quite like larb did.
(If you aren’t familiar, traditionally, larb is a minced meat salad. It’s packed with texture and the flavors of lime, chili, toasted sticky rice, lemongrass, and fresh herbs. It’s probably the greatest salad ever created – and that is no exaggeration.)
As I melted in the Northern Thailand heat, and chilled out by the river in Vang Vieng, I set out to eat as much larb as I possibly could… So that, when I got home, I could create the best, most authentic recipe for vegan larb, ever. And today, I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you!
This salad is irresistible. It’s:
- Tangy, spicy, umami, fragrant, herbaceous, sweet; positively flavor-packed.
- Succulent, chewy, crunchy, leafy; full of brilliant textures.
- Fresh, healthy, bright, colorful; vegan.
Hands down, this is one of my favorite things to make, and to eat. I hope you love it too.
What is Larb?
Larb – also known as laap, larp, lahp, lahb, or laab – is a minced meat salad from Laos. Larb is the unofficial national dish of Laos, but it’s also a popular and traditional dish throughout Thailand. You may have heard of larb gai (chicken larb).
Traditionally, ground chicken, duck, or pork is the base for larb, and the other key ingredients include fresh herbs, toasted sticky rice, hot chilis, shallots, garlic, and other aromatics. The dressing is typically just fish sauce (or vegan fish sauce, in our case), palm sugar, and fresh lime juice. And there’s always a crunchy element, like cabbage, cucumber, or lettuce.
Arguably, the most important element is the sticky rice. In this salad, sticky rice is toasted (together with aromats like galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass) until it’s golden brown and then ground into a coarse powder. This special substance has the ability to absorb any moisture it touches, turning each little speck of rice into a toasted, flavor-packed vessel of goodness.
Larb can be eaten alone, with a side of rice, or scooped up into lettuce leaves to make lettuce cups/wraps. It’s also commonly served with green papaya salad (som tum).
How to Make Larb Vegan
To make this recipe plant-based, I swap out the ground meat for crumbled firm tofu and minced shiitake mushrooms. This pair makes for a delicious and nutritious substitute in this epic salad; they take on the flavors we add to them and provide the perfect “meaty” texture.
I also use a high-quality vegan fish sauce, instead of regular fish sauce.
It’s as easy as that! And I promise, just as delicious. The flavors are all there. And the textures are, too!
Ingredients for Vegan Larb
To make this vegan/vegetarian larb salad, you will need the following ingredients:
salad:
dressing:
- Palm sugar
- Vegan fish sauce
- Lime juice
- Dried chili
toasted rice:
- Thai sticky/glutinous rice
- Galangal
- Lemongrass
- Kaffir lime leaves
Shop the recipe:
How to Make Vegan Larb
Making this vegetarian larb recipe is easy. All up, it will take you one hour.
Here are the steps, at a glance:
- Toast and grind up the sticky rice and aromatics
- Crumble and marinate the firm tofu
- Prep the fresh veggies
- Make the easy dressing
- Stir-fry the tofu and mushrooms
- Toss the salad together and enjoy!
Toasting & grinding the sticky rice
The most important component of larb is the toasted and ground sticky rice. If you skip this step, your larb will be sad and lacking in flavor. So don’t!
In a wok or cast-iron pan, you’ll toast the sticky rice, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass until the rice is golden-brown. Then, grind it up in a mortar and pestle, spice grinder, or food processor until you have a fine mixture, similar to the consistency of coarse sand. And that’s it!
What’s the point of this?
When you add the rice mixture onto the hot salad, the moisture from the vegetables and the dressing softens the sticky rice so that a toasty, aromatic flavor infuses the entire salad. It’s divine. A gift from the Rice Gods, really.
This step is easy, but a little time-consuming. However, you can keep the leftover toasted rice mixture for up to three months, so you can quickly and easily make this larb salad again and again!
Making & Assembling the Larb
Once your toasted rice mixture is ready, the rest of the process is quick and easy!
First, to marinate the tofu, you’ll use your hands to crumble the tofu into small pieces that resemble minced meat. Then, marinate it with some soy sauce and garlic.
Next, prep the rest of your veggies by mincing the shiitake mushrooms, slicing the cabbage, shallots, and green onions, and separating the herb leaves from the stems.
Then, make the dressing by combining the vegan fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar in a bowl.
Lastly, stir-fry the tofu and mushrooms in your wok until they’re beautifully golden-brown.
Turn off the stove, and assemble the salad in the hot wok, by stirring in the dried chili (feel free to make it as spicy as you like), the dressing, and the toasted sticky rice powder. Once the sticky rice powder has a moment to soften, toss in the sliced cabbage, shallots, and fresh herbs.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Do you have everything you need to make this epic vegan larb? Shop the recipe here:
Authentic Vegan/Vegetarian Larb with Mushrooms & Tofu
Are you ready to make my traditional Thai/Lao vegan larb recipe?
A go-to of mine at Thai dinner parties (my favorite kind of party to host – I am obsessed with Thai food), this larb is the dish that everyone always remembers; it’s the one they ask me to make, again and again!
So if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that you’re going to love this flavor bomb of a salad too – whether you are vegan or totally not! Enjoy!
If you make our vegan version of this traditional Thai larb recipe, please leave your review below! If you share any pictures on social media, make sure to tag @maddysavenue so we can see!
PrintAuthentic Vegan Thai Larb Salad with Tofu & Mushrooms
This authentic recipe for Thai/Lao vegan larb is packed with texture and the flavors of lime, chili, toasted sticky rice, lemongrass, and fresh herbs. It’s tangy, fragrant, succulent, and totally irresistible!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Thai/Lao
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
FOR THE TOASTED STICKY RICE:
- 3/4 cup sticky rice
- 5–6 thin slices of galangal*
- 6–8 kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 lemongrass stalk (light bottom part only), thinly sliced
FOR THE SALAD:
- 1 brick firm tofuย (400g or 14oz package), crumbled
- 2 tbsp soy sauceย
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 18 shitake mushrooms (250g or 9oz), minced
- 4 tsp sunflower oil (or other flavorless oil), divided
- 4 small Thai shallots (or 1 long banana shallot), thinly sliced
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 2 green/spring onions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
- 1/4 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 2 tsp hot chili flakesย (or more to taste)
- Lime wedges, for serving
FOR THE DRESSING:
- 3 tbsp vegan fish sauce
- 1 tbsp limeย juice
- 2 packed tbsp palm sugar
Instructions
- Crumble the firm tofu up with your hands, until it’s the consistency of minced meat. Add the tofu into a bowl with the soy sauce and minced garlic to marinate for 20 minutes.ย
- Heat a cast-iron pan on the stove over medium heat. Toast the sticky rice until it’s lightly golden, agitating the pan often to achieve even coloring. About 10 minutes.ย
- Add the galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass. Continue toasting for a further 10 minutes, until the aromats are toasted and fragrant, and the rice is evenly golden-brown. Allow it to cool. Then, in a mortar and pestle, food processor, or spice grinder, pulverize the sticky rice mixture until it is a semi-fine, sand-like texture.ย
- Heat a large cast-iron pan or wok on the stove over high heat. Heat the oil, then add in the tofu and mushrooms. Stir occasionally, allowing the pieces to brown on the bottom before stirring again. Ensure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan for extra flavor. (Depending on the size of your pan/wok, you may want to stir-fry the tofu and mushrooms separately, one after another, so they can brown adequately. You never want to crowd mushrooms, or they will steam rather than brown.)
- At the last minute, stir in 3 heaped tablespoons of the sticky rice powder and dried chili flakes. Remove the wok from the heat, then immediately toss in the dressing.
- Toss in the mint, cilantro, green onions, shallots, and green cabbage.ย
- Serve immediately, with lime wedges, and enjoy! Serve the larb as a main meal with rice and papaya salad, inside of romaine/cos lettuce cups as an appetizer, or as a side salad!
Notes
- If you can’t find galangal, you can use ginger.
- This recipe yields more toasted sticky rice powder than you need so that you can make larb easily many times. It will keep for a few months in the pantry.ย
- If you can’t find vegan fish sauce, use soy sauce instead.
- If you’re not vegetarian, you can use regular fish sauce.
- Feel free to serve the larb inside romaine/cos lettuce cups as a fun dish to eat with friends!
- You can also serve the larb with a side of rice and/or a side of green papaya salad (som tum).
This salad couldnโt get more delicious if it tried. Itโs a little time consuming to make the golden rice powder but absolutely worth it for the mouthwatering result. Plus the recipe yields extra to keep for next time. (The house smells so good when you make it too.) The rest of the recipe is quick enough. So good!!
Hard to imagine a more delicious salad. Canโt wait to make it again!
A very good recipe. It brought me right back to my travels in SE Asia.
Can I use all dry ingredients to make the sticky rice or do they need to be freah?
Hi Rose,
You can definitely use dried lemongrass, etc. Just note that you will need to adjust the amounts you add in – dried herbs and spices can often be stronger in flavor than fresh ones. If you do this, please report back with the amounts you use :)
A true flavour-bomb of a salad! I cannot wait to make it again. Thank you for this great recipe!
This recipe is seriously great! I made this and Maddyโs yellow curry for a group of girlfriends and they all loved it. They couldnโt stop talking about how delicious it was. A little time intensive with the sticky rice powder, but thatโs also what makes the dish so good. Since the recipe makes extra rice powder, you can make larb again and again in less time (and trust me, you will want to). Thanks, Maddy!!
I made a triple batch of this today (and a recipe for beef larb) and served it to a party of twelve. It was a big hit with people who never had larb before, those who had, and with two who grew up with larb! Multiple meat eaters told me they ate both versions separately, liked both, and ended up liking them mixed together best.
I’ll definitely make this again, but I’ll change a couple things in the recipe to make it easier in the kitchen. First, rather than making more rice powder than I need, I’ll use these measurements:
โข 4 Tbsp dry sticky rice
โข 1 Tbsp galangal (chopped)
โข 3 kaffir lime leaves (chopped)
โข 1 tsp, lemongrass (chopped)
This is how much powder ends up in a single batch, so double or triple it along with all the other ingredients if you’re multiplying the recipe. Also, as much as I love my cast iron pans, I’ll toast the rice mix in a sautรฉ pan. That will give more control over the heat, and I can toss the rice around in the pan just by shaking it.
I wonโt bother โmarinatingโ the tofu in soy sauce, because it immediately absorbed into my tofu anyway. Meat is much less absorbent than tofu, so marinating can be helpful, but one of the great things about working with tofu is how it sucks liquids right up!
I used baby bella mushrooms rather than shitake because they were more available and much less expensive. I might try the recipe with shitake sometime, but the bellas worked great. I think this would be good with a mix of whatever mushrooms you like.
Good with:
โข Steamed sticky rice and lettuce leaves for scooping
โข Chopped Thai hot peppers on the side for those who wanted more heat
โข Green papaya salad (as Maddy suggested)
โข Vegan Thai iced tea (I made it decaf, for dinner time.)
โข Vegan mango-coconut ice cream for dessert
Thanks for your review. Glad to hear that you and your guests enjoyed the larb :)
This was SO GOOD
I loved this recipe. I did not have any tofu on hand so I used ground pork and it was DELICIOUS! I will make again & again. Family could not get enough.
Thanks for your review! :)
Quite a few ingredients and a bit of effort to make with the toasted sticky rice, but Iโd do it again and again. So good!
So worth it, right!? Thanks for your review!
What a treat this larb salad was! Everyone loved it!
This is great news! Thanks for leaving your review :)
Absolutely loved this!
First of all, breaking up a firm tofu block until itโs the consistency of ground meat has opened my mind up to so many veggie recipe ideas! Thank you for that simple bit of genius.
The larb itself is so succulent and flavorful and extra points because it is served hot. The crunchy cabbage and herbs, the sour but sweet dressing & the minced tofu and mushrooms are the perfect combo.
Itโs so wonderful, I could eat it all the time. A full 5 stars for this recipe!
Fabulous! Thank you for leaving a review :)
New favorite salad alert! ๐จ Truly authentic and addictive… The toasted rice flavor in the background is something else. Thank you for posting! I love this recipe.
YAY! Thank you for your review :)
This is the best veg larb recipe Iโve found and Iโll continue to make it again and again. Especially because I have plenty of leftover sticky rice. So delicious!
Yay! Thanks for letting us know you love this larb :)
This is so delicious and definitely worth the effort. My fam loves this recipe!
So glad you and your family love this recipe, Charlie! Thanks for the review!
What a flavour bomb! I prepared this for a family get-together and it was the unanimous favourite dish on the table. I love the zesty lime flavours.
Amazing! Thank you for leaving your review!