Food

Various Lao Food dishes from festival vendors at the annual That Luang Festival held in Vientiane, Laos.

After making offering to the monks, people gathered around to eat various Lao dishes with family and friends before heading home.

The must have festival food dishes are Khao Poon (Lao rice vermicelli noodle soup), Khao Larm (sticky rice in bamboo tube), Ping Kai (grilled chicken), Tom Kai (boiled chicken or chicken soup).

Trying a spoon of raw duck blood salad (Laap Leud Ped) made by my uncle in Vientiane, Laos.

It was a scary moment to sample the food after witnessing how the dish was made from the beginning. Trying to say no was useless with all the cousins telling me to give it a try, so I did!

Ordering Lao Minced Beef Salad (Larb Sien) at a market in Vientiane before boarding a plane with Lao Airlines to Xieng Khouang, Laos.

Larb Sien is a national dish of Laos, typically made with minced beef mixed with crushed roasted sticky rice, crushed roasted chili pepper, shallot, green onion, mint, coriander, lime juice, fermented fish sauce (Padaek; Padek), and regular fish sauce.

The dish is usually served with beef soup, freshly steamed sticky rice, plenty or herbs and fresh vegetables on the side.

Sharing Lao food for lunch at a local restaurant in Phonsavan, Xieng Khouang, Laos.

We ordered Lao green papaya salad (Tam Maak Hoong), Khua Mee (Lao fried noodles) with pork blood cubes, bamboo shoots, and sliced tomatoes on top, served with pork rinds (kiep moo).

The main dishes are Larb Sien (Lao minced meat salad or beef salad) with beef soup, served with bitter bile dipping sauce, plenty of freshly steamed sticky rice.

My Lao Food Vlog during my trip to Vientiane, Laos. Ordering Lao Green Papaya Salad (Tam Maak Hoong; ຕໍາໝາກຫຸ່ງ) at Kok Pho Market, Ban Wattay in Vientiane, Laos.

The Tam Maak Hoong lady added crab sauce and a few raw crabs from a bucket of raw fermented fish sauce (Padaek; ປາແດກ) to the rest of the ingredients.