Lao Food 101: The Best Of Lao Cuisine In 10 Dishes
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The most common question I receive when I tell people I am a chef that specializes in Lao food is “What Lao foods do you recommend?” or “What are the top Lao foods for first timers?” hence me writing this article about the top 10 Lao dishes that create a cohesive look at the general cuisine. If you never had Lao food before, this is a good starter list for Lao food and recipes.
Elements of Lao Cuisine
Before we get into the list, it’s important to understand the profile of Lao food. Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Thailand, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, and Myanmar. With its rich culinary history, Laos has influenced many of its surrounding countries, contributing to the popularity of Southeast Asian foods like laab and papaya salad, which both originated in Laos.
The Mekong River is the lifeline of the country, supporting a diet heavy in fish. The fish from the Mekong is used in stews, steamed into aromatic curried parcels like mok pa, and made into padaek, an unfiltered Lao fish sauce. Padaek is a mixture of one-year-old fermented freshwater fish, sticky rice powder, salt, and other aromatics. It adds a delicious funk to dishes like thum mak hoong and laab.
Farming is another key element of Lao food culture. Most villages grow their own sticky rice, intertwining it with their culture. Lowland villages can grow sticky rice twice a year and are experts in its cultivation and harvest. Laos has the most varieties of sticky rice and is known as "the children of sticky rice."
Finally, Lao cuisine always includes a side of fresh herbs and vegetables, or incorporates aromatics heavily in cooking, to brighten up all the dishes. Lao food does not skip on flavor, combining the funky fish sauce from padaek with bright elements of aromatics, giving it a unique flair that keeps people wanting more once they try it.
History of Laos
The history of Laos has significantly impacted the global awareness and understanding of Lao food. The country has undergone many changes that have affected its people, leading to a struggle in getting Lao cuisine recognized and appreciated. One of the biggest challenges was the Lao Secret Civil War, which took place during the Vietnam War. Various political parties and powers overtook the old party, and the US bombed Laos for years, making it the most bombed country in the world per capita. As a result, many Lao people became refugees and fled the country starting around 1975, creating the Lao diaspora. Today, you will find many Lao diaspora communities in the US, Canada, France, and Australia.
Although it may seem simple, Lao sticky rice is essential to Lao cuisine and the culture. Lao people are known as “the children of sticky rice” because they have mastered how to grow and cook the rice. Even the signature, traditional sticky rice cooker is known as the “Lao Sticky Rice Cooker” associating the important of this type of rice to the Lao people. In all Lao households, you will find a tall metal pot and a triangluar and sometimes tube looking bamboo basket that us used in conjection to steam the sticky rice perfectly.
Lao sticky rice can be grown twice per year so everything revolves around growing sticky rice and timing it with the wet season. Each village usually has a large rice field where everyone will help tend to the rice in various duties. Depending on the season, the rice needs to be planted in a wet field that usually has water that is knee deep. Once the rice plant grows, it needs to be replanted in a coordinated line. It can take up to six months to get the first batch of sticky rice which explains why this grain is so valuable for each village.
Laab is a beloved and important dish in Lao cuisine, making it the national dish of Laos. Typically, laab is an umbrella term for a variation of laabs, as there are some laab that come as a minced protein salad, some as a thick soup, and some as a thick paste almost similar to a dip. The word “laab” literally translates to luck in Lao, as it is also chanted in various ceremonies to wish luck and prosperity to the people at these events. When serving laab, it is traditionally accompanied by a light soup made from the bones of the protein used, freshly cooked sticky rice, and lots of fresh herbs like lettuce, cucumber, and long green beans.
The first type of laab I want to introduce you to is the raw beef version, as it's one of those dishes that seems intimidating, but once it's broken down and understood, you’ll want to grab a big bite of it. Raw foods are eaten all over the world, like sashimi in Japan and steak tartare in France. Lao cuisine includes several types of raw food dishes, like this laab dip. With laab dip, it's a mixture of cilantro, mint, green onions, fish sauce, padaek, beef bile (or lime), toasted sticky rice powder, and galangal. The raw beef is lightly tossed in this mixture, creating a dish that packs a very flavorful punch with every bite.
Lastly, one big misunderstanding about laab is the way it's spelled. Often, you will find it spelled “larb,” which came from the British romanization of the Thai word, which in turn created the mispronunciation of laab. I like to spell it “laab” because I think it's the most correct way of spelling and helps the person say the word correctly. I also created a campaign to stop the mispronunciation of laab called “#notlarb.” Whatever way you spell it, make sure to pronounce laab with no hard “r” sound.
Jeow Mak Len (Lao Tomato Dip)
Lao food is known for its endless amount of sauces to dip your sticky rice into. There are dips made out of eggplants, just fresh peppers, and even sometimes bugs! Within a complete Lao meal, you will usually enjoy a grilled protein, sticky rice, papaya salad, and always one or more jeows, each having its own distinctive flavor and profile that completes the main dish.
One of my favorites is jeow mak len, which is a Lao tomato dip that highlights roasted tomatoes. Typically, it is mixed with roasted tomatoes, shallots, garlic, bird eye chilies, fish sauce, padaek, and cilantro. It is traditionally roasted over a fire or barbecue, but you can also cook the aromatics in the oven, air fryer, or stove; find the best way that works for your kitchen. Because tomatoes are filled with natural umami, aka MSG, this dip is addicting yet spicy, so you will be heaving and still wanting more. I enjoy eating jeow mak len with grilled chicken thighs.
Salads in Laos are very different compared to salads around the world. You may think of salads as something light, but salads in Laos are usually spicy, heavy, delicious, and packed full of flavor. One of the most popular salads in Lao cuisine is called thum mak hoong, which is Lao papaya salad. It is well known within the Southeast Asian community that Lao people make the best papaya salad, which also explains why papaya salad originated in Laos. You will find various papaya salads in neighboring countries, but nothing compares to the distinctive look and taste of thum mak hoong.
Once you try Lao papaya salad, you will never go back to any other type. In thum mak hoong, you will find a dark and pungent sauce made from padaek, tamarind pulp, black crab paste, shrimp paste, sugar, and more. If you’re lucky, Lao plum will be in there as well, as that keeps your mouth salivating from the plum’s natural flavors. Hand-shredded green papaya shreds are the best to use as they give texture and crunch in every bite. Sometimes papaya salad and sticky rice are eaten on their own as they can be a complete meal if the papaya salad is served with Asian meatloaf, boiled eggs, green beans, lettuce, eggplant, and vermicelli noodles. There’s a saying in Lao, “phor bet phor saap,” which means “if it’s not spicy, it’s not good,” and this rings true for Lao papaya salad.
There are hundreds of types of stews in Lao cuisine, yet one of my favorites is called gaeng nor mai, which is a Lao bamboo stew. This stew is commonly associated with Lao people as it is dark, murky, funky, and delicious. If you’re familiar with gumbo, I like to compare this to a Lao gumbo. In the pot, you will see a dark green broth from yanang leaves that acts medicinal with its slightly bitter taste. Floating around are bamboo shoots, mushrooms, sometimes pork riblets (often this dish is also made as vegetarian), kabocha squash, and herbs. One of the herbs that bring that signature flavor and scent is the rice paddy herb, which can sometimes be hard to source depending on where you live. It’s usually found in Southeast Asian markets near the produce section and wrapped in a plastic container. This herb brings out the aromatic flavors of gaeng nor mai.
Lao sausage is taking over the world! At least that’s what I’m seeing every time I ask a person if they have had Lao food before, and they usually talk about how delicious Lao sausage is and reorder it every time they have Lao food. It is one of those Lao foods that has gained its own reputation. This type of sausage is mouthwatering because it is a mixture of many Lao ingredients like galangal, lemongrass, padaek, lime leaves, shallots, cilantro, and green onions. When it gets cooked with all the fatty parts of the pork, the flavors just bind well together, making a delicious bite with sticky rice.
There are other variations of Lao sausages like sai gok, which is the soured version. In Xieng Khouang Province, you will also find dozens of variations made from other types of proteins and even a type of blood sausage. At most Lao restaurants, you will find the traditional and common one I described above. Usually, it is eaten with jeow mak len (Lao tomato dip) or jeow bong (fermented Luang Prabang pepper dip).
The Lao food capital is Luang Prabang because this was the old capital of Laos before it was moved to the current city, Vientiane. In Luang Prabang, one will find a lot of unique Lao food that symbolized Lao food in the past, and the dish aw lam was the signature stew of the city. Aw Lam is the Luang Prabang Pepper wood stew typically made with beef or ox if you’re in Laos, and it's filled with aromatics. This dish has many unique ingredients, and one is the pepper wood, which is a vine found only in Laos that gives off a numbing sensation after chewing on the wood and then spitting it out. If this type of ingredient is not available, Szechuan peppercorn should work as well. The second ingredient that holds a lot of history is dill because dill is very unique to Lao cuisine compared to its neighboring countries. It was brought over by the French when they ruled Laos for a period of time.
When enjoying Lao stews like this, I like to grab sticky rice and roll it into a ball and then let it sit for a few seconds in the stew so it soaks up the flavor. With an Asian spoon, I grab some of the other elements in the stew and enjoy the soaked sticky rice with it. After a slurp of the stew with the sticky rice, I’ll then take some lettuce and an extra bite of bird eye chili peppers.
One of the Lao dishes that bring me instant comfort is thom khem, which is a Lao braised pork stew since I grew up eating this at least every other weekend after coming home from school. It has that sweet and savory flavor with its golden coloring from caramelizing the sugar and using the soy to brown the eggs. The braised pork stew usually has pork riblets and whole boiled eggs that have a golden brown hue. This is one dish that I will enjoy with jasmine rice since the stew itself is already heavy, so the jasmine rice helps break it up.
When a heavy meat dish is served in Lao, it is typically for a celebration as meat in a village in Laos is rare. One of the beautiful parts of watching food being cooked in a village is that they know how to use all the parts of the animal, so this one pig would become laab, Lao sausage, thom khem, and more. Growing up, my parents went to farms in Wisconsin to butcher their own animals as a community, and they would split the meat as they knew their dishes would taste better with fresh quality cuts.
Nam khao is one of those Lao dishes that seemed to explode in popularity in the past few years as the method of making it looks delicious and also the idea of having a deep-fried rice plate just makes the mouth salivate. Nam khao is a Lao crispy rice salad, and its alternative name is also Nam Thadeua, as it originated in that region of Laos. One of the signature ingredients in this rice salad is the som moo, which is a cured pork sausage fermented with sticky rice to give a sour and slightly sweet taste. The sourness of the som moo helps balance the taste of this fried dish. The other ingredient that is often used is red curry paste to create the red hue of the dish, but you’ll be surprised that nam khao in Laos does not often use red curry paste. I found it several times made without red curry paste, leaving a different brighter color to the dish; both are just as delicious.
The process of making nam khao involves frying disks of flavored jasmine rice and then crumbling them into a large bowl to be mixed with herbs, fish sauce, and lime. If you fry it long enough, it will stay extra crunchy. A favorite way of eating it is enjoying it as a lettuce wrap topped with extra herbs, peanuts, and ginger and then taking a bite of the fried bird eye chili pepper.
The last dish is a Lao rice noodle soup dish. It is hard to choose, as there are dozens of signature Lao noodle soups, but I thought khao poon nam paa would be a great representative of the flavorful noodle soups available in Lao cuisine. This is a Lao curry noodle soup made with red curry paste, smashed fish, and a coconut broth. The oils on top of the broth should be vibrant orange as it is from the oil getting sautéed with the red curry paste. This broth is always eaten with vermicelli noodles as it’s the best type of noodle to soak and slurp this broth.
When enjoying a noodle soup dish like khao poon nam paa, it is usually enjoyed in the morning by itself with no other meals or sticky rice as the noodle soup is a full meal on its own. The khao poon will come with blood jello cubes and lots of fresh herbs like long green beans, shaved banana blossoms, and thinly sliced cabbage. It is sometimes also eaten with sticky rice puffs to give it an extra crunch with every bite. You’ll find this dish at many Lao celebrations as it’s a fan favorite and always in large stock pots with fresh veggies and noodles all around.
Lao Food Around the World
If you enjoyed this list of Lao food and want to explore more Lao foods in your area or around the world, I created a comprehensive list of Lao foods around the world. This list has mostly Lao restaurants in the US and many selections of Lao food in other countries. It’s a growing list, so please submit your recommendation if you find a new Lao restaurant thats not on the list yet. Lao food is rare but when you find your spot, your stomach will thank you.
Some stand out favorite restaurants that I love eating at when given the chance are Thip Khao in Washington DC by Chef Seng, Nok’s Kitchen in Garden Grove by Chef Nok, Khaluna in Minneapolis by Chef Ann, and Doi Ka Noi in Vientiane Laos by Chef Noi. These are some restaurants that have received a lot of much deserved recognition so I think you will enjoy the spots as well.
Lao Food Products
With the rise in popularity of Lao food, new Lao food products are becoming available on the market. For fans of Lao papaya salad who may not have access to many of the traditional ingredients, a popular option is Ninja Foods Lao Papaya Salad Sauce.
Another product close to my heart, as I created it myself, is called Lao Spices. This brand offers dry spice seasoning mixtures that help people cook Lao food. One of the seasonings is for laab, allowing you to create a delicious and aromatic laab in a matter of seconds.
Lastly, if you are looking for other Lao dips or products, a popular place to find them is on Facebook groups like Lao & Asian Kitchen Cooking. These groups often feature Lao moms or aunties selling their latest batch of jeow bong and other homemade Lao delicacies.
RECENT RECIPES
Sabaidee, I’m Saeng!
I’m a personal chef who specializes in Lao food. Here at Saeng’s Kitchen, you’ll find all your favorite traditional Lao foods and also some new twists to Lao style dishes.