Get a fiery taste of Thai Minced Beef with Herbs! If you have a low tolerance for heat, you can opt-out of it or choose a milder option. However, if you don’t mind a little spice, you can even leave in the chilli seeds.
What is Thai Minced Beef with Herbs
As the name suggests, Thai minced beef with herbs is made with minced beef cooked in chilli, mint, and variety of vegetables. It is often called larb, and it is one of the popular food in the streets of Thailand. The stir-fry is served with jasmine rice and put in lettuce cups for a more refreshing crunch.
The dish is common to the Isan region where the majority of the Lao population is located. Unfortunately, it is not considered as the official dish of the region. The ingredients used for the dish is quite similar to other Thai cuisines. It features mint, fresh herbs and seasoning with fish sauce, lime juice, and chilli peppers.
If you prefer other meats, you can substitute it with pork, chicken, and duck. For daredevils, you can find some with a mix of meat and offal such as gizzard and kidney. It is an easy meal to prepare at home, and if you happen to make it yourself, you can even save it as leftovers to reheat it later on. Just separate the chopped herbs so it won’t wilt when you reheat.
What’s behind the name?
Larb, or Thai Minced Beef with Herbs, can be spelt as larp, laap, laab or lahb. It is believed that the word lab, means luck in Laotian but it is also said to be linked to an older word to mean “to chop finely”. No one has agreed on what is the proper way of spelling the words but it hasn’t stopped people from ordering it all the same.
Nutritional Information For Thai Minced Beef with Herbs
Animal protein, like beef, provides a high amount of protein which contains essential amino acids that are needed for the growth and repair of muscle. In that, so beef is an excellent source to benefit from especially if you do a lot of physical labour on a daily basis.
However, some recipes require ground lamb which is a fattier protein. Naturally, it would contain a significant amount of saturated fats and trans-fat. By adding spices, it can actually increase its fat and calorie content increasing the risk of cardiovascular and heart-related diseases.
If you are trying to have a healthy diet, you can substitute it with a leaner protein as chicken. Generally, lean meat is around 5-10% fat.
Traditionally, the dish is made with raw beef. However, it is not recommended to consume raw meat as there is a potential for contamination. In Thailand, there have been several cases of hospitalisation as a result of it.
Where To Find Thai Minced Beef with Herbs
If you are looking to try Thai Minced Beef with Herbs, then you are in luck. We have found a few Thai restaurants in Malaysia that serves this delicious dish. Dine in or get it delivered straight to your door from Thai Village with their special Tamarind sauce.
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