Entries categorized as ‘Lao’
So my friend Meghan told me about this show that she was watching and my city was in it! I was surprised because most foreigners don’t bother coming here and there are few tourist attractions. I was so excited that I found it on iTunes and downloaded it. I’m glad I did – they did a great job thoughtfully portraying life here and had an appropriate attitude about the war that happened here. I showed a portion of it to my Lao language tutor and she liked it too and was even more surprised than I was that they came here. Anthony Bourdain’s tour guide in the Phonsavan part owns a beautiful hotel and restaurant here (Auberge de la Plaine des Jarres) and we know him! They picked a great local guide.
You can find it by going to the iTunes Store within iTunes and searching for Anthony Bourdain. This was Vol. 5, Episode 1 “Laos”. It’s $2.
Categories: Lao · Lao culture
A couple of weeks ago, we went to Luang Prabang with my mom and brother who were visiting. While we were there, James decided to attend a cooking school. The rest of us went to visit the old royal palace, but got to hear all about the cooking school later. There are at least 3 cooking school in Luang Prabang, but James chose “Tamarind” because it seemed like it would be the most hands-on. He had a great time and learned how to cook some of our favorite Lao foods. For $20 he got a class that went from 9am to 3pm. It was taught by a Lao man with good English who was careful to teach techniques rather than just showing off his own skills! By the way, Tamarind cooking school was mentioned on the NPR show “The Splendid Table”. Above you can see some of the ingredients they used. (more…)
Categories: Lao · Lao culture · fish · main dishes
James used to make something like this with his Lao roommates. It’s another easy and yummy way to use leftover rice, like arroz con leche and nasi goreng. To make this more Lao, chop a couple of small fresh chilies and cover them with fish sauce in a small bowl before you start cooking. Use the sauce to add extra spiciness to your rice as you eat. (more…)
Categories: Lao · main dishes · sauces · vegetarian
I love this way of eating mangoes. Many of the mangoes available now are not quite ripe, so this is a good way to eat them. The tartness of the mango is extra zingy with the salty/spicy dip. Mexicans do something similar to this too. The dip also tastes good with watermelon, pineapple, ripe mango, or cantaloupe. (more…)
Categories: Lao · Latino · produce · sauces · vegan · vegetarian
I apologize for showing you delicious food that you can’t have unless you’re in Laos, but it’s an interesting food and you should have it if you’re ever here. This riverweed is a special kind found in the Mekong near Luang Prabang. It’s dried there with sesame seeds and sometime tomatoes and garlic.
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Categories: Lao · Lao culture · sauces
