A Laotian Lunch

Whenever I'm traveling to a new country, one of my favorite things is to try all of the amazing local food.

Lao food is quite similar to northeastern Thai food, and I really like it! It's very fresh, flavorful, and a tiny bit spicy. We've been eating cheaply to save money, but occasionally we will treat ourselves to a nice local lunch. On a bright and sunny Vang Vieng afternoon, we crossed the road from our guest house to sit down for a delicious Laotian lunch.

Tam Som

"Tam som" is called "som tam" in Thai. In English, it's called "Papaya Salad". This dish is so fresh and healthy. It's a salad made of shredded raw papaya, garlic, lime, chili, tomato, and a dressing made of palm sugar, fish sauce, and more, all mashed with a mortar and pestle and tossed together. The dish is topped with roasted peanuts. It tastes really fresh and healthy, and so delicious.

tam mak hoong

Larb Gai

Larb is a type of "meat salad" that's also very popular in Thailand. It's usually made out of pork, but we ordered "larb gai", which is made from minced chicken. The meat is tossed with chili and mint and lots of other herbs and ingredients.

larb gai

Khao Niaw

Most Laotian dishes are served with "khao niaw", or sticky rice. Unlike regular fluffy white rice, sticky rice is "glutinous", and really does stick together. It's generally eaten by hand (it's almost impossible to eat with a spoon, fork, or chopsticks), by pinching a bit out of the woven basket it's usually served in, rolling it into a ball, and dipping it into the sauces from the som tam or larb. Sticky rice is supper filling, and often causes the "sticky rice effect" of making you very full and sleepy after eating it!

sticky rice

I'm kind of surprised to discover that Lao food is a lot more expensive than food in nearby Thailand, Vietnam, or Cambodia. In fact, food here is nearly twice the price of street food in the other countries! That means that due to our tight budget while we travel, we won't be able to enjoy as much delicious local food as we did in Vietnam. But every time we do splurge for lunch at a nice local restaurant, I'll be sure to really enjoy it!

lunchtime!