Laab Noodle Salad

By Kay Chun

Updated November 4, 2025

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
30 min
Rating
5(260)
Comments
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This lively salad is inspired by laab, a Thai minced meat salad seasoned with fish sauce and served with fresh lettuce leaves and rice. Here, a caramelized ground-beef topping is layered over crisp veggies and cool rice noodles, all drizzled with a tart and spicy vinaigrette. Green beans are nicely charred first in a hot skillet, adding lovely smoky notes to the garlicky beef mixture. Fresh cilantro (or basil) ties the salad together with bright citrusy bites. Leftovers make a terrific filling for fresh summer rolls the next day.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 3 ounces rice vermicelli noodles

  • 3 tablespoons lime juice

  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce

  • 1 bird’s-eye chile, minced

  • 3 garlic cloves, minced, divided

  • 7 tablespoons safflower or sunflower oil, divided

  • Salt and pepper

  • 6 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 ½ cups)

  • 1 pound ground beef

  • 12 ounces romaine lettuce, chopped (8 cups)

  • 6 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved (1 cup)

  • 1 small yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)

  • ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems 

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

30 grams carbs; 81 milligrams cholesterol; 633 calories; 21 grams monosaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 47 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 5 grams fiber; 904 milligrams sodium; 24 grams protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, combine noodles with enough boiling water to cover by 1 inch. Let stand until softened, about 3 minutes. Rinse under cold water until cool, then drain. Snip with scissors a few times so the long noodles are more manageable.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine lime juice, fish sauce, chile, ¼ teaspoon of the garlic, 5 tablespoons of the oil and 1 tablespoon of water. Season with salt and pepper and whisk well. 

  3. Step 3

    In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high. Add green beans, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring just a few times to allow the beans to char, until crisp-tender, 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. 

  4. Step 4

    Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and beef to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat, until beef is caramelized in spots, 5 minutes. Add the remaining garlic and stir until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir in the charred green beans, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

  5. Step 5

    Spread rice noodles on a large serving platter and drizzle over 3 tablespoons of the dressing. Arrange lettuce, tomatoes and bell pepper in an even layer over the noodles and drizzle over 3 tablespoons of the dressing. 

  6. Step 6

    Top with the beef mixture in an even layer and sprinkle with the cilantro. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side for drizzling.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
260 user ratings
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Comments

kim n

Larb is really Lao by origin. It’s their national dish. A lot of great Lao food gets credited as Thai

sarah v

I’m a vegetarian and I used coconut aminos for fish sauce and gardein fake beef bits for the meat. I think this recipe needs that beefy flavor compared to tofu to be more authentic to the Laotian dish. I had no troubles with a 1:1 sub and will be making this again!

Molly

Used ground chicken instead of beef, and added chopped scallions and mint to the cilantro. Turned out great!

Bree LaFin

I tried this as written because of all the raves but very much missed the usual slivered makrut lime leaves (rib removed), finely minced lemongrass, and further variety of herbs (mint, thai basil, etc) that I always use for laab. It was perfectly edible but missing oomph. Personally would also prefer chicken or pork over the beef, found the beef overwhelmed the other flavors, and cucumber/bean sprouts over bell pepper.

sam

Added the whites of green onions and a diced Jalapeno with the green beans. Doubled the garlic and did an extra Thai chili. Reduced the oil in the sauce by a tablespoon and used EVOO. Another commenter was right, I probably used half the romaine… pretty good and would make again!

MDR

The sauce risks ruining what starts out feeling like it’s going to be a great meal. It needs about 3x the fish sauce and, sugar! It’s way too sour and flat as is. I kept tasting it until it worked and the amped version made this dinner amazing. I also served it deconstructed and with rice instead of noodles with some sliced onions and adjusted the lettuce way down. Now it’s a keeper

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