Laos - Descendants of Sticky Rice

Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. The Lao people originated in China and settled in the country’s current location around 1353. Kingdoms came and went. Trade through the region led to cultural and financial wealth. In 1893, Siam (modern day Thailand) ceded the territory to France and became Laos. France left in 1954 and well we all know how the U.S. handled things. The country came under Communist control in December 1975.

Off politics and on to food. The staple food in Laos is sticky rice. The rice is grown throughout Southeast Asia. Its distinguishing stickiness is due to the lack of amylose and high amount of amylopectin. Sciency words that mean it sticks together when cooked.

Laotians eat more sticky rice than any other culture. A quick read on Wikipedia states: Sticky rice is considered the essence of what it means to be Lao. It has been said that no matter where they are in the world, sticky rice will always be the glue that holds the Lao communities together, connecting them to their culture and to Laos. Often the Lao will refer to themselves as "luk khao niao", which can be translated as "children or descendants of sticky rice".

I found the rice a bit tricky to make. It’s steamed. There is a special steaming pot and basket for this. To me, it looks like a small spittoon pot with an upside-down bamboo hat. I wasn’t intrigued enough to purchase the set. I do have a 5-pound bag of the rice which should last me forever.

The rice must soak for several hours. I put a cup in a bowl and covered with water the morning before cooking. I’d say it sat for about 8 hours. Heat up a big pot of water, dump the rice in a fine-mesh strainer, cover and steam away. It took quite a bit longer than the recipe indicated to become soft. Maybe the hat would work better. Here’s my source: How to Make Sticky Rice (Stovetop or Instant Pot) | Inquiring Chef

Larb (also spelled laap, larp, lahb or laab) is a meat salad considered the national dish of Laos. It is made with any protein and many variations exist. I chose to use pork. I also did not use a red chile. I bought some red fresno chiles at the local Asian market hoping they wouldn’t be too hot. I slice a small piece to try it and immediately spit it out as the heat was instant. The scoville scale for fresnos is 2,000 to 10,000, pretty sure I got a 10,000.

I resorted to red bell pepper. Sigh, I am quiet a light weight with hot chiles. Note on the scoville chart that this chile is only yellow zone hot.

Even without heat the larb was delicious. The funk of fish sauce, the brightness of mint and the tang of the lime were really good.

I also made a Mango & Shrimp Salad, Thum Mak Mouang (Make a Lao'd salad. Mango style. – Little Laos on the Prairie). Shredded green mango, lime juice, funky fish sauce, sweet chili sauce (not real hot) plus more good herbs and such. It also called for hot raw chile but, well, see above. I forgot to add the peanuts at the end so I will need to do this again.