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Laotian Food

koalartw By On 26/12/2016 3

In Laos

And now you will probably ask yourselves: and what the hell do they eat in Laos? Though there is much less variety in the dishes than in neighboring Vietnam or Thailand, Laos does have some typical dishes that you will most likely find on every menu.

Can we see the menu please?

Laap
If something like a national dish exists in Laos, then it is Laap.
This dish is a cold minced meat salad mixed with fresh onions, garlic, mint, coriander, chilies and it is flavoured with fish sauce and fresh lime. The most common form of this salad is chicken or pork laap, but you will also find beef, duck and fish laap. For vegetarians, an alternative with minced tofu can be found on some menus. Laap is usually served with sticky rice.
Alex' favourite dish in Laos!
Chiken laap
Noodle soup
Lao Khao Soi (Noodle Soup)
Same same but different, this soup ressembles a bit the Vietnamese "pho" soup, but it is actually not quite the same. A bunch of rice noodles is put in a bowl, a hearty pork or sometimes beef broth is poured over ist and on top the Laotian version features some cooked and sliced pork meat, crispy fried onions, chilies, sometimes even tomatoes and of course the mandatory herbs and greens (coriander, mint, etc.). In Laotian soups we often found an additional green we had not seen in Vietnam: water cress.
Not comparable to the unique pho, but still a nice dish.
Laotian mama
Laotioan Barbecue
Asians are very much into barbecue and each nation does its own style of barbecue.
We liked the Laotian version of table barbecue a lot: glowing charcoal in a container and then the metal barbecue is put on top. However, the Laotian barbecue looks a bit like a citrus press. On the top part (where you usually squeeze the lemon) you grill the meat while in the lower part you pour a vegetable bouillon and add greens, veggies, garlic and chilies as well as - upon taste - an egg. You eat the barbecued meat together with rice and at the end you eat the soup which has taken a meaty flavour from the grilled meat.
Laotian bbq
Lao saussage
Laotian Sausages
Yes, they also produce their local sausages in Laos and honestly speaking, not even bad ones. Laotians eat their sausages for special occasions like marriages, religious ceremonies or other festivities. It is usually a pork sausage which is seasoned with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, chillies, garlic, salt and fish sauce.
Around Luang Prabang a "sour" variation of this sausage exists where cooked sticky rice is added to the filling which is then allowed to 'sour' for a couple of days at room temperature. In the south, around Pakse, they produce more spicy sausages where logically more chilies are used. It is usually eaten with boiled vegetables, the mandatory sticky rice and a soy sauce dip.
Sticky Rice
Sticky rice is literally eaten EVERYWHERE in Laos. It is a glutinous rice that is not cooked, but steamed in a big bamboo basket. It is traditionally served with every meal (unless you ask for normal boiled rice) in a tiny bamboo basket. As it is so sticky, Laotians usually take a bit of the rice with their hands, roll it to the form of a ball and then dip it into sauces etc. and eat it with their fingers.
We both liked the sticky rice and preferred to eat our meals with it instead of parboiled rice.
Laotian sticky rice
Sandwich at le baneton

Bakery

Like in Vietnam, a heritage from the French colonisation times, you find tons of bakeries all around Laos these days. They offer good quality French baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat, quiches, cakes, etc. Our favourite one was 'Le Banneton', a chain mainly found in the cities. Balm for Alex' French soul :).

Top model drinking beerlao dark
Drinks
As in many other counties, Laos offers a lot of amazing fresh fruit juices and shakes: passionfruit, pineapple, mango, banana, dragon fruit, coconut,...
Beerlao is the nation's preferred drink and also Alex was drinking quite a few bottles during our 30 days stay.
Lao Lao is what they call "rice whisky" even though we don't know why the call it whisky. It is a rice wine/rice schnaps, like in many other Asian countries in more or less good quality. Especially in the mountains, the hill tribes produce and drink a lot of this spirit, but even in the cities they use Lao Lao to mix cocktails.
Tea can be pretty much found everywhere and especially in southern Laos they offer a lot of freshly brewed Laotian coffee from the Bolaven plateau.

Others

Apart from the dishes mentioned above, Laos is as well influenced by its neighboring countries and offering a range of Thai dishes like Tom Yam soup, fried noodles, coconut curries, fried meat with basil leaves and chilies,... Vietnamese springrolls and other noodle soups can be found as well as well as fresh papaya salad. What we especially liked was when they wrapped fish or chicken in banana leaves and then either steamed or grilled it on the barbecue.

Steamed fish in banana leaves

We hope this article gave you an impression about Laotian cuisine and if you ever go there you know what to expect on your table :).

Mahlzeit, bon appétit und en Guete!
Moni & Alex
Moni about to enjoy the biggest pancake ever

Food Laos

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Comments

  • Moni & Alex

    1 Moni & Alex On 31/12/2016

    Hi Mama und Papa!

    Gut zu hören, dass der Kaffee schmeckt und in kleinen Dosen keine so verheerenden Wirkungen hat.
    Und ja, Laos im Ganze. War sehr beeindruckend und schön.
    Die Traditionen der Stämme sind für uns Europäer halt teilweise sehr brutal :(.
    Buss und guten Rutsch heute,
    Moni & Alex
  • Papa (Ernst)

    2 Papa (Ernst) On 27/12/2016

    Hallo ihr Koffein-Junkies!
    Mama und ich haben euren selbst gerösteten Kaffee bekommen. Wir hoffen jetzt, dass wir nicht auch eine Überdosis davon abbekommen und dann darniederliegen.
    Viele Bussis
    Papa
  • Mama (Regine)

    3 Mama (Regine) On 27/12/2016

    Meine Lieben!
    Ich habe eure Artikel mit großer Begeisterung gelesen. Die Höhle muss ja sensationell gewesen sein,ebenso die Wasserfälle. Sonnenuntergangsfotos muss ich nicht haben :)))))) !
    Das,wo sie den Hund zu Tode treten ist ja urgrauslich und brutal:(((( !
    Eure Koffeinüberdosis muss ja auch nicht gerade harmlos gewesen sein, aber das Essen dürfte euch überall schmecken !
    Ich bin froh, dass es euch gutgeht und ihr zwischendurch auch Relaxtage einschiebt (Hängematte, Blick aufs Wasser- da soll man nicht neidisch werden!).
    Ich hab euch lieb! Mama

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