Laab is local food in the Northern Thai and Isan region, stretching as far as Laos and Xishuangbanna. It is prepared by sourcing meat, offal, and skin, chopping thoroughly them, and mixing with seasonings. There are various types of meat used for Larb, such as chicken, duck, beef, buffalo, fish, pork, and bird meat. Larb dishes are popularly eaten with sticky rice and Northern and Northeastern versions differ in both ingredients and cooking methods.
Northeastern or ‘E-Sarn’ Larb is a dish prepared using minced meat, seasoned with fish sauce, lime, and sprinkled with roasted rice, chili powder, mint leaves, spring onions, and shallots. Both cooked and raw meat can be used, and it’s commonly eaten with local vegetables such as cucumber, acacia shoot, Indian Trumpet Flower, olive shoot, star fruit, bael fruit, neem shoot, etc.
Northern Laab or Laab Mueang (Larb Lanna) is a popular food that people from the Yuan and Tai Lue tribes eat regularly. These two tribes are closely related in terms of language, history, and traditions. Chili Laab, also known as Nam Prik Laab, consists of spices that are roasted until cooked, especially the Sichuan pepper which is the main seasoning ingredient for this dish and the one that lends it most of its unique flavor.
