G'day chili babies. This is the one I make when I want a proper meal that feels like a holiday. Larb — the warm, herb-heavy mince salad from northeast Thailand and Laos — built three ways. Chicken, pork, or smoked tofu. Toasted rice powder for crunch. Sharp, electric fish sauce dressing. And Rippah Chili Oil doing the heavy lifting on heat and aromatics. Scooped into cold butter lettuce cups so the cool/hot contrast does half the work for you. Bloody delicious.

The trick with larb is balance. Salty (fish sauce), sour (lime), sweet (palm sugar), hot (chili), aromatic (herbs and shallot), nutty (toasted rice). Most recipes have you chasing six ingredients to land all six flavours. Rippah collapses two of those into one ingredient — the heat AND the deep aromatic base — so you get more flavour with fewer moving parts. We use it three times in this recipe: in the dressing, drizzled over the warm protein, and at the table for anyone who wants more.

35 minutes start to finish. Serves four as a starter or two as a light main.

why it works

Larb is a balancing act. The dressing has to be aggressive on its own — punchy, sharp, slightly sweet — because it gets diluted by the protein and the cool lettuce. Most home cooks under-season it. Don't.

The toasted rice powder (khao khua) is the one thing you cannot skip. It's the nutty, sandy texture that separates real larb from a sad mince stir-fry. Five minutes of dry-toasting rice in a pan. That's it. Transforms the dish.

And the chili oil. Honestly, never blend chili oil into hot oil while you're cooking — you'll cook off the aromatics you paid for. Add it off the heat or at the end. Three layers: into the dressing, over the warm protein, on the table.

ingredients

For the khao khua (toasted rice powder):

• 3 tbsp Thai sticky rice (or jasmine if that's what you have)
• Optional: 2 makrut lime leaves, a small chunk of galangal, 1 lemongrass stalk (bruised), toasted with the rice

For the dressing:

• 2½ tbsp fish sauce (or 2 tbsp light soy + ½ tbsp mushroom sauce if doing the tofu version)
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice, about 2 limes
• 1½ tsp palm sugar, grated, or soft brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Rippah Chili Oil, oil and sediment stirred together
• 1 small clove garlic, microplaned

For the protein — pick one:

• 400g ground chicken thigh (don't use breast, it'll go dry), OR
• 400g ground pork, ideally 20% fat, OR
• 400g firm smoked tofu, crumbled by hand into rough pea-sized pieces

For the aromatics and garnish:

• 3 shallots, sliced paper-thin
• 4 spring onions, sliced thin on the bias (white and green separated)
• 1 large handful mint leaves, torn
• 1 large handful cilantro, roughly chopped (stems included)
• ½ handful Thai basil, torn (if you can get it)
• 2 makrut lime leaves, central rib removed, sliced into hair-thin strips
• 2 heads butter lettuce or 2 baby gem, leaves separated, washed, dried
• ½ cucumber, sliced into half-moons
• Handful toasted peanuts or cashews, roughly chopped
• Extra Rippah Chili Oil for finishing and at the table

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a light main. 35 minutes.

how to make the khao khua

1. Dry-toast the rice. Tip the rice (and the optional aromatics if using) into a small pan over medium-low heat. Shake constantly. You want the rice the colour of a hazelnut shell — 4 to 5 minutes. Don't rush this. Pale rice = no flavour.
2. Cool and grind. Tip onto a plate to stop the carryover heat. Once cool, grind to a coarse sand in a mortar or spice grinder. You want texture, not powder. Set aside.

how to make the dressing

3. Whisk it up. Fish sauce, lime, palm sugar, garlic, and 2 tbsp of Rippah Chili Oil into a small bowl. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Taste. It should be aggressive on its own — punchy salt, sharp sour, gentle sweet, building heat. Adjust BEFORE it hits the meat, not after.

how to cook the protein

4. For chicken or pork: heat a dry wide pan or wok over high heat. No oil — the meat brings its own. Add the meat in one layer and leave it for 60 seconds to catch some colour. Break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook hard until just done with a little fond on the pan, 4 to 6 minutes. Don't stew it. If there's more than a tablespoon of fat in the pan, tip some out. Keep a little — it carries flavour.
5. For smoked tofu: heat 1 tbsp neutral oil in a wide pan over medium-high. Add the crumbled tofu in one layer and leave it alone for 2 minutes to crisp. Toss and keep going until the edges are golden with a chewy crust, 6 to 8 minutes total. Pinch of salt halfway. Tofu won't release moisture like meat — you control the texture entirely with patience.

how to bring it all together

6. Dress it warm, not hot. Off the heat (but still warm), tip the protein into a large mixing bowl. Add the white parts of the spring onion, half the shallots, half the khao khua, and most of the dressing. Toss firmly so everything gets coated.
7. Taste and adjust. More lime if it's leaning sweet. More fish sauce if it's flat. More chili oil if you want depth.
8. Fold in the herbs. Mint, cilantro, Thai basil, lime leaf, and the rest of the shallot. Fold gently. Herbs should stay lively, not bruised.
9. Plate it. Pile the warm larb into a shallow bowl. Scatter the remaining khao khua, the spring onion greens, the peanuts. Finish with a generous drizzle of Rippah Chili Oil so the sediment lands visibly across the top.
10. Serve. Lettuce cups on the side, cucumber half-moons, and a small bowl of extra Rippah at the table. Eat by spooning larb into a lettuce leaf, topping with a cucumber slice, and folding.

pro notes

Temperature matters. Larb is meant to be eaten warm, not hot. Let the protein cool for 60 to 90 seconds before dressing or you'll wilt the herbs and dull the lime.

Don't skip the khao khua. It's the single thing that separates a real larb from a stir-fried mince. 5 minutes of work, transforms the dish.

Lettuce alternative. If butter lettuce is sad, use perilla or shiso leaves, or raw cabbage cups. Iceberg works in a pinch — choose the inner cup-shaped leaves.

Chili oil temperature rule. Never blend Rippah into hot oil while you're cooking. You'll cook off the aromatics. Always add it off the heat or at the end.

storage and make-ahead

The dressing keeps 3 days in the fridge. Khao khua keeps 2 weeks in a sealed jar at room temp.

The protein is best fresh but reheats gently in a pan with a splash of water. Don't microwave it — the herbs will go sad.

If you're doing this for a dinner party, make the khao khua and dressing the day before. Cook the protein and toss everything together right before serving.

veg sides that work alongside

If you want to make it a full meal rather than a starter:

• Charred long beans tossed with Rippah and a squeeze of lime
• Som tam (green papaya salad) — even a quick version with shredded green cabbage works
• Sticky rice, obviously
• Quick-pickled daikon and carrot for sharpness

Made with Rippah Chili Oil. Small-batch, handmade in Toronto.

Grab a jar →

Made it? Tag @rippahchilioil on Instagram. You're a chili baby now.

Stay spicy, Nicola and Billy x