Lao food is traditionally eaten with sticky rice, with the fingers. In the countryside, people will all eat family style which involves sitting on the floor, sharing a few dishes. Traditional Lao food is dry, spicy and delicious. Laos cuisine is influenced by its neighbours and the colonial French. Some favourites include:
Laap
Traditional Lao food made from chopped meat, chicken or duck. The finely
chopped meat, spices and broth is mixed with uncooked rice grains that
have been dry fried, and crushed. Laap is eaten with a plate of raw vegetables
and sticky rice.
Tam Mak Houng
A salad made from sliced raw papaya, garlic, chile, peanuts, sugar, fermented
fish sauce and lime juice which can be extremely spicy.
Som Moo
Fermented pork sausage, found in many forms. The sausage is made from
raw pork - sometimes lean, sometimes pork skin. Som moo may be eaten raw
or cooked. A mixture of som moo, tam mak koung and laap make a popular
Lao lunchtime meal. Barbequed som moo, served Vietnamese style is popular
in Laos. Known as Naem Nuang, it is served with transparent rice paper,
thin noodles and lots of herbs, vegetables, lettuce and a sauce. You take
all the ingredients, and build your own spring roll, an art in itself!!
The locals make it look easy.
Foe (pronounced "fur")
A noodle soup which can be found everywhere in Laos. It is simailar in
style to the chinese noodle soup found allover Asia.
French Baguettes are found in the larger towns, served for breakfast, filled as a sandwich with pate, moo yor (pork), vegetables and chili sauce. Baguettes are also dunked into coffee for breakfast. As well as French bread, you will find a lot of salads in Laos. The traditional Lao diet includes a lot of raw vegetables - but the French left the tossed salad behind. In Luang Prabang, they have a delicious salad made from watercress.
