Laab Noodle Salad
Updated November 4, 2025
- Ready In
- 30 min
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
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
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
29 grams carbs; 81 milligrams cholesterol; 632 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Private Notes
Comments
Larb is really Lao by origin. It’s their national dish. A lot of great Lao food gets credited as Thai
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!
@kim n Thanks for the educational tip! Credit where credit is due!!
I felt this would be very bland as written. Added mushrooms, ginger, lemon grass, basil and hot dried Thai chili powder to the beef Used sesame oil Dressing used two Thai chilis and one jalapeño, added lots of cilantro, used whole bag of limes Dressed salad generously then added very generously dressed noodles and topped with beef and cilantro It was amazing that way
This was delicious! Next time, I will reduce the romaine and increase the noodles, but that is because I LOVE vermicelli noodles. I think the adding scallions and chopped peanuts would also add additional texture/flavor.
does this keep well for leftovers? wondering how the noodles would do…
@carmen it does. I had two days worth of leftovers and it was delicious! Noodles were fine.