Thai beef larb

Recipe

Quick, fresh, and full of flavor, this Thai-inspired beef larb is perfect for a healthy, easy-to-make meal. Ready in just 20 minutes, this dish features lean beef mince stir-fried with garlic, lime, fresh herbs, and vegetables, served in crisp lettuce cups alongside rice noodles.

Ingredients

• olive or canola oil spray
• 500 g lean beef mince
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 long red chilli, seeded and thinly sliced (optional)
• 150 g green beans, trimmed, sliced into 1cm pieces
• 2 cups cabbage or wombok, finely shredded
• finely grated rind of 1 lime and 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3 tbs sweet chilli sauce
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 4 spring onions (including green tops), ends trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped
• 1/2 cup mint leaves, roughly torn
• 1 whole iceberg lettuce, separated into leaves
• 250 g rice noodles, cooked, to serve
• lime cheeks, optional

Method

1. Spray a large non-stick wok or frypan with oil and place on medium to high heat.
2. Add mince and brown for 5 minutes, stirring to break up lumps.
3. Add garlic, chilli and beans; stir-fry for 3 minutes.
4. Add cabbage, lime rind and juice, and sauces; mix through and cook for 2 minutes until cabbage softens.
5. Remove wok from heat, add spring onions, coriander and mint and toss to combine.
6. To serve, place lettuce leaves, mince mixture, cooked noodles and lime cheeks onto separate serving plates. Pile cooked mince and noodles into a lettuce leaf and coat with a squeeze of lime juice. Roll up into a parcel to eat.

Variations

• Substitute cabbage for bean shoots
• Replace beef with lean chicken, turkey or pork mince
• Use larb mixture (without noodles and lettuce) as a filling for rice paper rolls and serve with sweet chilli sauce

Nutrition Information

Recipe reproduced with permission from LiveLighter. Delivered by the Cancer Council Victoria, in partnership with the Heart Foundation