Cuisine of Laos
|
|
Lao cuisine is the cuisine of the Lao ethnic group of Laos and Northeast Thailand (Isan). Lao food is distinct from other Southeast Asian cuisines. The staple food of the Lao is sticky rice, although rural Lao enjoy a very wide variety of foods and ingredients, including plants, animals, and insects collected from the wild. Galangal and fish sauce are important ingredients. The Lao national dish is larb, a spicy mixture of raw, marinated meat and/or fish (prepared like ceviche) with a variable combination of greens and vegetables. Another characteristic dish is Tam Mak Hung/Som Tam, green papaya salad.
Lao cuisine has many regional variations, according in part to the fresh foods local to each region. In Laos, a French influence is also apparent in the capital city, Vientiane, such that baguettes are sold on the street, and French restaurants (often with a naturally Laotian, Asian-fusion touch) are common and popular. Vietnamese cuisine is also very popular in Laos.
| Contents |
Batterie de cuisine
The Lao stove is called a tao-lo and is fueled by charcoal. It is shaped sort of like a bucket and has room for one pot or pan to sit on top. The wok, maw khang in Lao, is used for frying and stir frying. Sticky rice is steamed inside of a bamboo basket, a huad, which sits on top of a pot, which is called the maw nung.
A large, deep mortar called a khok is used for pounding tam mak hung and other foods, and is indispensable in the Lao kitchen.
Ingredients
- galangal
- kaffir lime
- shallots
- lemongrass
- tamarind
- cilantro
- hot pepper — seven popular types
- thai basil
- mint
- dill
- lemon basil
- garlic
- ginger
- banana flower
- ginger flower
- bamboo shoot
- rattan shoot
- shiitake mushroom
- hed hou nou — "mouse ear" mushrooms
- ya nang leaf
- mak kheua poy — green and white striped eggplant
- mak kheng — another type of eggplant
- yard long beans
- phak kadao — a green, eaten raw
- phak ileut — a green, eaten raw
- dok khae — flower of agati grandiflora
- phak bong — ipomoea aquatica, stirfried or eaten raw
- nam pa — clear fish sauce (Thai nam pla)
- padek — Lao-style fish sauce
- "three-layer pork" — pork belly
- dried water buffalo skin — used in jaew bong and stews
Representative dishes
- larb — a spicy meat salad
- tam mak hung — green papaya salad
- soup noh mah — green bamboo stew
- keng noh mai som — sour bamboo shoot soup
- ping sin — dry grilled beef
- ping kai — grilled chicken
- sai oua — sausage
- nem — Lao "fried rice"
- sin savane — sweet crisp fried beef
- som moo — sour pork sausage
- som pa — pickled fish
- som khai pa — pickled fish roe
- som phak kad — pickled greens
- sai oua — sausage
- mok pa — fish steamed in banana leaf
- mok kai — chicken steamed in banana leaf
- or — green vegetable stew
- or lam — Luang Prabang style green vegetable stew
- tom padek — fish stewed in padek
- tom tin moo — pig's trotter soup
- keng som kai — sour chicken soup
- khao poon nam jaew — rice vermicelli soup
- khai khuam — stuffed eggs "upside down"
- pon — spicy puree of cooked fish
- khao nom maw keng — coconut custard cake
Beverages
Lao coffee is often called Pakxong coffee (cafe pakxong in Lao), which is grown on the Bolovens Plateau around the town of Pakxong. This area is sometimes said to be the best place in Southeast Asia for coffee cultivation. Both robusta and arabica are grown in Laos, and if you ask for arabica, there is a very good chance the proprietor will know what you are talking about. Most of the arabica in Laos is consumed locally and most of the robusta is exported to Thailand, where it goes into Nescafe. The custom in Laos is to drink coffee in glasses, with condensed milk in the bottom, followed by a chaser of green tea. The highly-regarded tea is also grown on the Bolovens Plateau.
There are two general types of traditional alcoholic beverages, both produced from rice: lao hai and lao lao. Lao hai means jar alcohol and is served from an earthen jar. It is communally and competitively drunk through straws at festive occasions. It can be likened to sake in appearance and flavor. Lao lao or Lao alcohol is more like a whiskey. It is also called lao khao or, in English, white alcohol.
In more recent times, the Laotian state-owned brewery's Beerlao has become ubiquitous in Laos and is highly regarded by expats and residents alike. The Bangkok Post has described it as the Dom Perignon of Asian beers.
External links
- wokme.com Asian Cooking Guide - Laotian Cuisine (http://www.wokme.com/pages/cuisines/laotian.htm)
- Article on Lao coffee (http://www.laocoffeecompany.com/CoffeeSnobsUnite.html)
- Another Article on Lao coffee (http://www.teacoffeeasia.com/news.asp?id=505)