A few fun facts about Laotian food:
• Laos is a country with a very diverse culinary tradition that has been influenced by its history of being conquered by its neighbors and colonized by the French
• Breakfast is traditionally Pho, which comes from Vietnam
• For Lunch locals like to eat baguette sandwiches- French
• Sticky rice (white or black) is a staple in every meal and is traditionally eaten with three fingers (thumb, index, and middle)
• Popular techniques include: steaming in banana leaf, grilling, and mortars
• Meals are all served simultaneously and communally shared- everyone digs in and eats with their fingers
• Favor very strong flavors- bitter, sour, spicy…very spicy
• They use a fermented fish sauce “padaek” to flavor many dishes
• Traditional drinks include Laotian whisky and the famous Beer Lao (I prefer the dark lager, Mike prefers the gold)
• Traditional desserts include mango with sticky rice, and coconut milk with different kinds of tapioca beads
Mango coconut sticky rice
Coconut milk with tapioca and taro
What to eat when in Laos? You’d think this would be a simple question, but in reality finding good food was the most difficult part of our trip. When we first arrived in Vientiane we had no idea what to expect, so we asked our hotel where to go and were immediately directed to the hottest spot in town. That night I had the worst meal of my entire life. I ordered a whole roasted fish that paired with a papaya salad and some vegetables. The fish legitimately tasted like it had been rotting away in the sun for a few hours before it was picked out of the river and cooked just for my pleasure. I am not exaggerating, Mike can attest to the fact that it was that bad. Mike had Laotian beef, which was actually pretty good, but still not stellar. So this is how we started our food journey in Laos.
After our first disastrous food night in Vientiane, things actually started looking up for us. We found a smaller restaurant on the Main Street that was full of locals and served us traditional dishes like beef laap and the ever so popular, and incredibly spicy papaya salad. The beef laap is an interesting dish, which is traditionally made with minced beef, beef tripe, beef bile, and many herbs. To a westerner this might sound pretty unappetizing, and it does kind of assault your taste buds at first, but after a few bites we got used to the bitter taste and ate it happily. Our best meals in Vientiane all came from the street markets. There we had delicious Indian/Bangladeshi “pancakes”, meat on a stick, and (our favorite) traditional Laotian sausage. This sausage was INCREDIBLE. After this, we learned that markets are the way to go to find cheap, traditional, and delicious food in Laos.
Authentic beef laap- tripe, bile and all
Mike’s favorite chicken skewer stand
Noodle soup (pho) from local market
Vang Vieng was even more challenging than Vientiane. Every restaurant seemed to cater solely to the backpacker palate, and featured very bland food. Our best meal was at this unbelievable restaurant where we ate our last dinner. This small Thai/German restaurant is run entirely by just one man, a native German of Thai descent who moved to Vang Vieng after falling in love with it while on vacation. His story was inspirational- in Germany he could not afford to open a restaurant, so instead of making his life more difficult, he decided to move to Vang Vieng (a place that he could afford) and open his place. Mike had a curried chicken breast, and I had curried thai noodles with vegetables. We both still dream about this meal- it was UNREAL. Highly, highly recommend this place for the food and amazing owner (it’s called Viman Vang Vieng).
In Luang Prabang we stuck to what we knew well at this point- night markets. Every night we would stroll through and pick up meat from our favorite stand and the delicious dumplings from the Chinese man’s booth. The best restaurant we visited was Bamboo Tree- a delicious place right by the river that served a great rendition of lemongrass chicken with coconut milk and cashew chicken that Mike and I both loved.
Lemongrass coconut milk chicken
Chicken cashew nuts
Purple sticky rice
Authentic Chinese dumplings
The most notable food moment of our trip was the cooking class we did with Tamarind Restaurant. Here we learned how to make: tomato jaw som and eggplant jaw som (dipping sauces), sticky rice, minced chicken stuffed in lemongrass, beef laap, fish steamed in banana leaves, and for dessert purple sticky rice with coconut sauce. Everything was absolutely delicious, but we especially loved the stuffed lemongrass and the dessert.
Hillary’s beef laap
Chicken stuffed in lemongrass
****
Takeaways- Laos is a country where you can’t be afraid to get adventurous if you truly want to taste their culture. Step out of your comfort zone and try bizarre ingredients you’ve never tasted before! After all no food is disgusting, it’s just different and takes getting used to.
Recommendations- beer lao, beef laap, mango coconut sticky rice, anything with lemongrass and chicken, and if you aren’t feeling adventurous go for the Thai food it’s usually very good.
****
Delicious dessert recipe we both loved and wanted to share! You can adjust the sugar to your liking and add your favorite fruits, it’s really rich and refreshing.
Khao Gam: Purple Sticky Rice with Coconut Sauce
Ingredients:
For 300 grams of sticky rice you will need:
375-ml/8 fl oz coconut cream or milk
100 g/3 oz sugar
pinch of salt
1. Wash rice 2-3 times under running water until water runs clear
2. Add just enough water to cover the rice and allow to soak for 4-10 hours (packaged sticky rice 2-3)
3. Drain rice and rinse
4. Place the rice in a steamer (preferably a bamboo steamer). Allow 2.5in between water and steamer otherwise the rice will become too sticky. Place steamer over boiling water.
5. Steam 20 min on medium heat
6. Taste test- should be sticky but not mushy
7. While rice is steaming heat the coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Sit until sugar and salt are dissolved and keep mixture warm.
8. Remove hot rice from steamer and mix in with the sauce. Continue to mix over heat for about 5-10 minutes, or until rice has fully absorbed the coconut milk mixture.
9. Mound the rice into a place and serve with your favorite fruits on top. Goes very well with strawberries, mint leaves, toasted coconut, sesame seeds, mango and banana.
Keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days.