5 tasty dishes of Laos

Steamed rice in a bamboo tube is a signature dish for most of the oriental cuisines and also a popular Laos street food. Khao Lam Bamboo Sticky Rice is a very famous Laotian sweet dish where sticky rice is treated with coconut cream and red or black bean to be filled in a bamboo tube and roasted until all the ingredients are cooked and blended together to give a sweet aromatic treat. It is such a popular food for the Laotians that it is sold on the streets.

Laos food culture can be seen in its unique and flavorsome dishes, and among those is Marinated fish. Steamed or grilled wrapped in banana leaves is a common delicacy in most of the Asian cuisine. But the treatment of the dish is what gives it a distinct characteristic of its own. Mok Pa is a signature dish from Laos in which white fish is pounded and seasoned with exotic spices such as chili peppers, basis, kefir leaves, fish sauce, spring onions, and salt; wrapped in banana leaves and steamed bamboo baskets. The soft and flaky texture of the fish soaked in the varied aromatic spices melts into your mouth.

Khao Soi is again a very unique flavor of Laotian food that offers a delectable blend of ground pork broth, sauce and a layer of tomato. This pork tomato sauce is then added to a rice noodle soup that is made of pork broth and garnished with freshly chopped watercress leaves to make the most flavorful and delicious Laotian dish. The freshness of the watercress leaves helps to create a balance adding some fiber to the protein and also gives that fresh and crunchy mouth feel.

Laap or larb is one of the traditional Laotian dishes. This dish has a cultural significance as well and is served at weddings and other auspicious occasions in Lao. Laap in Laotian language means good luck. It is made of meat or fish that are very finely sliced and flavored with lime luice, mint, spring onion, fish sauce and dried, crushed uncooked rice grains. This dish is served with vegetables such as eggplant, mustard leaves, lettuce and chillies. While making the order lease make sure that the laap is cooked as in many regions, they also serve it raw, particularly in the case of fish laap. When looking for the popular Laos national food, then Larb shouldn’t be missed out!

Tom Mak Houng is a papaya salad that offers the perfect blend of all the Laotian flavors. Made out of raw papaya that is tempered with fermented fish sauce, garlic, chilly, lime juice, sugar and garnished with peanut, Papaya salad is staple in the Laotian cuisine. It is fresh, fulfilling and packs a healthy punch. It helps to balance the otherwise heavy meat dished by adding some fresh crunch to it.

Source Traveltriangle