Laos - Food

Earthy and Umami Flavors

Jan 2024

Laotian food has a mix of influences from Thailand and Myanmar. While the food is similar to Thai, there are some important differences. 

Let's start with Laab which is the National dish and a type of meat salad. It is a representative food of Laos that consists of mixed meat, fish sauce, red pepper, garlic, herbs and spices. The secret ingredient is an earthy strong fish sauce called Padek which has a very earthy umami flavor. Laab is unique to Laos and you have different kinds of meat salads, which use beef, pork, fish etc. 

Laab is derived from the sanskrit word "Labh" which means lucky and is considered a food of good luck in both Laos and Thailand. Laab is very popular in Laos and Isan and Lanna regions of Thailand which has a lot of Laotian influence.

Tham Mak Hoong with Khao Niew

The second important food is the Green papaya salad or Tham Mak Hoong. Tham means smashed and the papaya salad is made up of strips of green papaya smashed together with fish sauce and Padek to give it a strong umami flavor. It is funky, spicy, and aggressive in flavor and a little bit of an acquired taste, but enjoyable once you get used to it. The papaya salad juice is dark due to the mix of crab paste, shrimp paste, and Padek.

The third important dish of Laos is the sticky rice, Khao Niew. The rice doesn't stick to the hand and can be picked up with the hand and dipped into the sauces of salads to be eaten. It is similar to eating with a Roti. 

Yao Khao and Khao Tom

There are different variations of the salad and one which is popular is the Yam Salat which comes from the Luang Prabang region.  This is a fusion salad and has French influences. It is made with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, watercress, mint, coriander and spring onion. It’s topped with chopped peanuts, slices of boiled egg, crispy shallots and a distinct sweet and creamy dressing.  

There are also the rice noodles starting with the Khao Piak which is an Udaan style noodle made from rice flour and tapioca. Then you have the Khao Poon, a fermented rice vermicelli noodle. Finally, there is the Khao Soi which is made from flat rice noodles dipped in a pork broth and embellished with a bolognese of minced pork, tomatoes, garlic and fermented bean paste. 

Then there are different crispy rice salads like Nam Khao, Spring rolls like Yao Khao, coconut sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves like Khao Tom and coconut cakes like Khao Nom Kok (which look and taste like Kerala Unniyapams)

So that's broadly the cuisine of Laos.