Why the food in Laos is very special Lap mok pa and som tam

Why the food in Laos is very special Lap mok pa and som tam

Sabaidi!

Laos is a country enclosed between Vietnam, China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. The country has had a number of troubled years but has been getting a better image in recent years. This is not only due to the increasing number of tourists who discover the beautiful country, but also because of the cuisine of Laos. Laos’ food is quite different from other countries in Southeast Asia

Sticky rice, lemongrass and fish sauce

Laos is known as the country where people eat the largest amount of sticky rice per person of all the people in the world. Every year, each Lao eats about 156 kilograms of sticky rice. A huge amount! It is therefore not surprising that sticky rice, which is usually eaten with your hands, forms the basis of many dishes from the cuisine of Laos.

Why the food in Laos is very special Lap mok pa and som tam

With the names of the dishes rag, mug pa and som tam will not ring a bell directly for most people. However, if you look at how these dishes are made you can’t help but mouth water:

Lap
is a meat salad and is also called the ‘unofficial national dish of Laos’. With chicken, beef, fish, duck or pig, supplemented with mushrooms, padek, chili, mint or lemon and various vegetables. The meat is eaten both raw and fried. The dish is not only a topper in Laos but also does very well in Thailand.

Mok pa
is steamed fish in banana leaves. The fish is flavored with ingredients such as shallots, lime, lemongrass, chilli, dill, and basil. The fish is packed in the banana leaves and then steamed. The package is served with rice and vegetables.

Som tam
is a papaya salad, made from torn pieces of unripe papaya. The dish can be filled with all kinds of vegetables and meat. The base of the salad is often the acid of a lime combined with the sharpness of chili, the salty and the savory of the padek and the sweetness of palm sugar. A hit with all your taste buds at work!

More popular than you think

Many people from the west are familiar with various dishes from Thailand. What many do not know, however, is that some of the Thai cuisine is quite influenced by the cuisine of Laos. Because Thai dishes sound ‘more familiar’ than dishes from Laos, many chefs from Laos sell their dishes in Thai restaurants.

Want to know more about the cuisine of Laos?

Want to learn to cook Laos’ food? Take a look at our cooking workshop Laos. You and friends, family or colleagues will spend 3 hours cooking, eating and drinking. Guaranteed a success!