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Published: April 19th 2008
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Fresh Ingredients
One morning at the market, I shot a bit of the produce and meats. Since this thread is about food.... After my three days of consuming what I've come to affectionately call as "pond" and my one exceptional night market soup, I wasn't quite sure what to make of Lao cuisine. However, what I found in Luang Prabang is a culinary paradise brimming with creature comforts.
A town of approximately 100,000 residents, Luang Prabang was the royal capital of Laos until the communist takeover in 1975. It sits at the confluence of the Mekong and Khan rivers and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995 for its well preserved "fusion of traditional architecture and Lao urban structures with those built by the European colonial authorities in the 19th and 20th centuries." It is beautiful, relaxed and an intriguing blend of cultures.
The first evening in Luang Prabang, I ran into the women from the Gibbon Experience. While I had leisurely made my way south out of the mountains, they piled into a speedboat in Huay Xai and endured a bone-jarring adrenaline rush down the Mekong. Helmets + Earplugs = Insanity! We had dinner together with some Israelis they met on the boat and I had another taste of Lao cuisine. Fish steamed in a banana leaf with
herbs and spices served with scented rice. Steaming, boiling and grilling are traditional and popular cooking methods and the cuisine doesn't center on liquid or oily dishes. The primary reason for this is a staple ingredient: sticky rice.
Sticky rice (glutinous rice in the U.S.) is used almost exclusively. It is prepared by soaking in water for 4-5 hours and then steamed in a conical bamboo basket set over boiling water for about 20-30minutes until ready. (I learned how to make it at the Baan Thai cooking school in Chiang Mai.) After being steamed, the rice is kept in a basket called
Tipkao or
Kongkao depending on the region. The basket is made out of hand woven bamboo strips and comes in different shapes and sizes. (This is when I realized I failed to photograph any baskets!) Eating with sticky rice involves pinching an inch or two off with your fingers, shaping it into a ball and eating it plain or using it to scoop your food or dip in a sauce.
One of the most common Lao dishes - and my absolute favorite - is
Laab (also
laap and
larb). It is a meat salad served at
room temperature and usually accompanied by sticky rice. Laab is made from minced meat which is tossed with lime juice, garlic, powdered rice, green onions, mint leaves and chilies. It is most often made using beef, duck or pork and the meat can be either raw (like a ceviche) or cooked. It also seems to vary widely in the intensity of the chili heat.
Several things distinguish Lao cuisine from that of its neighbors. A meal is often accompanied by a large number of raw fruits and vegetables. Also, savory dishes are never sweet and the idea of 'sweet and sour' is odd. Yet another is that some dishes are actually quite bitter. There is a well-known saying about how sweet makes you dizzy, but bitter makes you healthy. Mint, dill and galangal are all superstars in Lao cuisine. Of course, the French also left their mark after the time they spent here in the 19th and 20th centuries.
With our meal, I had my first BeerLao which is ubiquitous and highly regarded. There is a lager and a darker stout available. The lager is nearly always only available in large bottles of 640ml and usually runs 10,000kip
(or ~$1USD) and the stout only in the standard 330ml size for nearly as much. Lao Brewing Company is now owned by Carlsberg. I liked it. A lot. 😉
Dinner turned into drinks and dancing at Hive where I tasted Lao-Lao - a locally produced rice whiskey that is about 30% alcohol but has quite a strong taste and usually drunk neat. The town shuts down at 11pm, but the bowling alley outside of town is open quite a bit later (perhaps 24hours?) and we managed to make our way there for several hours of bowling, beer and popcorn. For the first few hours we were the only foreigners there and the locals were having a field day joking with us and challenging us to a few games. It was fantastic.
Did I bowl? A few frames. The best part about it was that I could wear my own shoes or none at all. Now THAT's what I'm talking about.
The following day we pooled resources and gathered some more travelers to hire a sangthieaw (small pick up truck with wooden benches facing each other in the rear and a makeshift roof to shield you from sun
and rain) to went to Kwang Si Falls. Clear water cascades gracefully over limestone formations gathering into layers of stunning turquoise pools. There are picnic areas and designated pools for swimming as well as a nice short hike up to the top of the falls for a view down to the valley below. I have never seen water that shade of turqoise and I would love to reproduce it in paint and use it in a room.
We packed lunches consisting of baguette sandwiches (boiled egg and vegetable with mustard was TASTY) and spent the day meandering and taking pictures. The hike up to the top of the falls was more rigorous than we anticipated, but well worth the effort if only to sit on the railing at the top and gaze out onto the mountains and fields as they burned. This time of year, the Lao are burning crop fields preparing for the rainy season as well as clearing new fields for planting. I was struck by how vulnerable we were at the top of the falls and how in the western world there would have been a railing or perhaps we would have been denied access. Instead,
There & Away
How foods get to their destinations we happily splashed around and I learned exactly how amazing my Keen sandals are on wet rocks. Stuck like glue!
As we descended the waterfall, thunder started rolling by and lightning strikes could be seen in the distance. The storm moved in quickly and dropped a very heavy, fast and cold rain on us. My iPod drowned in the flood because in my efforts to save my camera I forgot it was tucked away in an unprotected pocket. Annoying and sad moment.
The day wore me out and stirred my appetite so Mercy and I chose a mellow night together and sampled some more Lao food. We mosied over to Tamarind: A Taste of Laos opposite Wat Nong and enjoyed a sampling platter of dips. Roasted eggplant, cilantro, stewed tomato, and an intense chili dip that I wanted to take home with me. We ate them with sticky rice and locally made flat peppered rice crisps. After our appetizer, we chose a restaurant near the Mekong and had scrumptious Beef Laab and the local stew which we both disliked and did not finish. There is this flavor that occasionally appears in foods that I think may be the
Negotiating
These two women haggled for a bit before the customer walked away. flavor the wood imparts when you cook over it. While I normally love foods cooked over wood fires, there is a peculiar bitterness reminiscent of lighter fluid that I find traces of in many dishes here, including what we were served at the Gibbon Experience.
Wrapping up the night with coconut shakes, we dragged our feet to our respective guest houses for a good night's sleep.
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Ana Irueste
non-member comment
turquoise waters
your description of the water hole and water falls inspired this poem. Hope you enjoy it. Turquoise Waters In the crystaline waters of the soul we will jump and swim saturating our souls with clarity and care a moment of abandonment in full presence clearing our thoughts and connecting with others this is the place of quiet contemplation where action and inaction meet where the energy of joy and love fill our total beings. love, Ana