As someone whom considers room for improvement in the kitchen I made a commitment to myself I would take cooking lessons in each country I visit. Here are some recipes from the Laos kitchen I would like to share. For those ingredients that you can not find in your country I would just say improvise!!
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Green Papaya Salad
(Tom Markhou)
Papaya salad is eaten extensively throughout Laos. It is one of the Laotian dishes regularly served at the family meal.
Ingredients
2 cups green papaya, peeled and shredded
2-4 red chili peppers
1 clove garlic
½ cup of shredded carrot
½ tbsp shrimp paste
1 tbsp sugar
3-4 tbsp fish sauce
1 lime, thinly sliced
8 cherry tomatoes sliced
Fresh vegetable: cabbage, yard long beans. Pea nut for garnish
Preparation
Pound the fresh chili, garlic, in the mortar pestle.
Mix in the shrimp paste to make a thick paste. In a mixing bowl, mix the paste together with the fish sauce and sugar. Toss in the shredded papaya, sliced lime, and tomatoes. Mix thoroughly. Prepare a platter with a bed of the lettuce and/or cabbage. It should be a balance of sweet and sour with a hot and salty taste.
Spoon the Tom Markhou or Som Tum over the lettuce or cabbage and top with the chopped peanuts and serve with sticky rice.
Lao Spring Rolls
(Name Lao)
Ingredients
500 grams spring roll sheet
100 grams mug bean noodle
200 grams minced pork or chicken,Tofu,fish
1-2 eggs
½ cup sliced carrot
½ finely sliced potato
½ finely sliced onion
½ cup dried ear or Shiitake mushroom, soaked until tender and finely sliced
½ tbsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp light fish sauce
4 cups cooking oil, for deep frying
Spring of sweet basil for garnish
Chili sauce
½ tbsp crushed red sour chili
2 tbsp water mix with 1 tbsp of tapioca flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup vinegar or lime juice
¼ cup water
Preparation
Mix vinegar, water, sugar, salt and chilies together, simmer over medium heat until hot. Stir in the tapioca batter, cooking until the sauce thickens, turn of the heat.
Soak the noodles for 15 minutes or until soft, drain and cut into short lengths. Mix the pork or chicken, crabmeat, egg, cabbage, carrot, mushrooms, black pepper and light soy sauce together. Add 1 cup of noodle, and mix well.
Sauté the garlic in 3 tbsp of oil until golden and fragrant, add the pork and noodle mixture. Stir until it becomes fairy dry, remove and allow cooling.
Spread a spring roll sheet on a flat surface, Place 2 tbsp of the filling in the center, fold both sides of the sheet to cover the filling and roll tightly, and seal the wrapper with the thick batter. Preheat the oil over
Medium-low heat until hot. Deep-fry spring rolls until crispy and golden brown. Remove and drain on absorbent paper.
Arrange on a serving dish. Garnish with sprint onion tips and sweet basil. Serene hot with chili sauce.
Serves 6
Tip: the thick batter is made front 2 tbsp of wheat flour and ¼ cup of water Stir over low heat until the batter is done and clear, remove front the heat.
Step by step
Mix the minced prod, crabmeat, egg, cabbage, carrot, mushrooms, pepper, salt and soy sauce together. Add the mint bean noodles, toss to mix well.
Sauté the mixture with fried garlic over medium heat until dry. Remove and put aside as the filling.
Fold both sides of the spring roll sheet, roll tightly and seal close with the thick batter.
Deep-fry the spring rolls in hot oil over medium-low heat until golden, remove and drain.
Chicken, Pork, Beef ,Tofu Curry
(Sine Kai)
This curry recipe is good with other main ingredients as well.
You can substitute firm or deep-fired tofu or gluten for the chicken and you will have a very delicious vegetarian yellow curry.
Do not forget to use soy sauce instead of fish sauce if you want to make this pure vegetarian dish.
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, legs cut into pieces
1 ½ cans coconut milk
2 teaspoons yellow curry paste
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups water
3 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoons sugar
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into cubes
1 teaspoon palm sugar (if you have)
½ onion, cut into cubes
Kaffir lime leaves, torn
¼ cup sweet basil leaf
Sweet basil leaves for garnish
Preparation
In a pot or wok over medium heat bring the coconut milk to a boil and simmer over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the coconut milk separates and a layer of oil forms on the surface. Stir the cream.
Add the curry paste, stir well to combine and cook until fragrant. Add chicken and salt, fish sauce, sugar and cook and another 2 minutes or until the mixture begins to darken.
Add the coconut milk to the saucepan or wok and simmer over a medium heat for another 5 minutes.
Add the carrot, potato and cook for 5 minutes. Add the kaffir lime leaves. Lower the heat and simmer about 10 minutes or till chicken and vegetable are thoroughly cooked. Taste, and then adjust.
Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the sweet basil leaves and chili slices.
Serve with steamed rice and sour fish soup.
http://travelwithlindsey2008.blogspot.com/2008/09/cooking-lessons-in-laos.html
