Laos Food and Markets

Sleeping Vendor - Luang Prabang, Laos

When the customers thin out, it's time to catch a wink. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Sticky Rice - Luang Prabang, Laos

Purple and white sticky rice sprinkled with freshly grated coconut and a little sugar, all wrapped in a banana leaf. Who needs donuts and danish when you've got sticky rice and coconut? Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Eggplant and Chilies - Luang Prabang, Laos

Contrasting beautiful colors weren't in short supply at Luang Prabang's Phousy Market. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Lao Food Fixings - Luang Prabang, Laos

Baby Asian eggplants, keffir lime leaves, spring onions, galangal and sa khan (a spicy wood that imparts heat and causes a numbing sensation, used in Or Lam stew). Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Fresh Vegetables at Phousy Market - Luang Prabang, Laos

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Lady with a Hat - Luang Prabang, Laos

A vendor at Luang Prabang's Phousy Market. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Shallots, Garlic, Chillies and Fish Sauce - Luang Prabang, Laos

All the necessary ingredients for a tasty dinner. The fish sauce (padek) in the plastic tubs in the back is potent - it's similar to other fermented fish concoctions in the region, but is a tad thicker. After spending three months in this region, we've become accustomed to the smells and tastes of fish sauce and shrimp paste...and have started to appreciate their value (necessity?) to food in this region. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Basket of Tomatoes - Luang Prabang, Laos

Basket of Tomatoes - Phousy Market, Luang Prabang Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Chilies and Tomatoes at Phousy Market - Luang Prabang, Laos

The tomatoes in the background are small and are harvested at various degrees of ripeness to impart tartness to selected Lao dishes. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Mangosteens - Luang Prabang, Laos

Take off the top and peel away the leathery skin to find white, fleshy white cloves in the middle. Sweet and rich. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Blood Bouillon - Luang Prabang, Laos

Gelatinated blood bouillon for the most courageous of Lao cooks. Taken at Phousy Market, Luang Prabang Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Water Buffalo Hoofs - Luang Prabang, Laos

The meat section of Luang Prabang's market was full of troubling bits. Here, water buffalo trotters are on sale next to some type of bile-based liquid (no kidding). Water buffalo meat is part of the diet here and all of it is used out of necessity. The skin is cut into small pieces and used traditionally in jaew bawng (Luang Prabang barbecue sauce). We chose to pluck it out - it was too rubbery for our tasts (like an old gummy bear) and didn't impart any additional flavor. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Mekong River Weed - Luang Prabang, Laos

This bright green river weed gets pounded flat and is then dried in the sun with tomatoes, garlic and sesame seeds to make khai paen. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Phousy Market - Luang Prabang, Laos

What's around the corner from the aisle of buffalo bits at the Phousy Market? Why, a pedicure stand, of course. Smack dab in middle of the pork section. Hmmmm Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Peeled Bananas - Luang Prabang, Laos

These peeled bananas await their turn on the grill. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Phu Si Vendor - Luang Prabang, Laos

This Luang Prabang vendor offered a selection of temple flowers, khai paen (a crispy, tasty fried river weed) and a semi-sweet treat of purple sticky rice and coconut smoked in bamboo. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Bags of Khai Paen (River Weed) - Luang Prabang, Laos

This is the finished product - after the fresh river weed has been pounded and dried in the sun with tomatoes and garlic. Cut it into squares and fry it up for a delightful beer snack - they are a healthier alternative to potato chips (we think). Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Grilled Fish - Luang Prabang, Laos

These tilapia fish are stuffed with lemongrass and herbs and grilled until the meat is soft and buttery. A filling meal for two for under $2. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Variety of Dips - Luang Prabang, Laos

A delightful afternoon snack with dips made from roasted eggplant, sweet tomatoes, and cilantro. The dark mixture in the spoon is jaew bawng, a sweet-spicy sauce made from roasted chilis (Audrey calls it the Luang Prabang barbecue sauce). The dark strips are khai paen, pressed river weed (think of it as downscale version of nori) fried with sesame seeds. Roll it with sticky rice and you're set. Sticky (or glutinous) rice is the staple of Laos. With a few tasty varieties on offer and a rich, nutty flavor found nowhere else in the rices of Southeast Asia, we were hooked. We welcomed late afternoons as an excuse for a snack of khai paen, jaew bawng, and sticky rice washed down with a cold Beer Lao. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Fresh Springrolls and Fish Curry - Luang Prabang, Laos

These spring rolls were some of the best we'd had on our trip. Loaded with fresh herbs and served with a zippy vinegar chili sauce, they were a treat. Lao curries were not quite as spicy and thick as their Thai counterparts, but they were tasty in their own way. Sticky rice is king - and normally served in a little thatch basket to give it form. White, purple or brown, sticky rice in Laos never seemed to disappoint. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Or Lam and Purple Sticky Rice - Luang Prabang, Laos

It's possible to visit Luang Prabang and be tricked into thinking you're eating Lao food. Most of the restaurants pimp Thai curries as Lao food. Although most don't do it to be deceptive, it's a disservice to real Lao cuisine. We searched around for traditional Laotian dishes and found some at a simple restaurant named, of all things, the Fruit Shake Restaurant. Yes, we know, with a name like that, how authentic could it be. Plenty, it seems. The stew in the foreground is Or Lam - a spicy stew with mushrooms, eggplant, meat, lemongrass and chillies. This particular Or Lam did not have the wood bits that give off a spicy numbing feeling when you chew on it. We tried the wood later on in Nong Khiaw - a truly bizarre taste sensation. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Grilled Prawns - Vientiane, Laos

Our first night in Vientiane takes us to one of the many restaurants set up along the Mekong River. They all serve the same type of food at similar prices, so we opted for the place with the freshest looking seafood. After a brief negotiation, we ended up with fIve of the meatiest giant grilled prawns we've had in our lives for $4. Paired with a lemongrass-stuffed whole fish, this made for a simple, yet transcendental culinary experience. Read about our first impressions of Vientiane, Laos.

Pancake Fritters Vendor - Luang Prabang, Laos

Coconut pancake fritters make for a quick street-side breakfast snack on our way to connect with our tour group. Salty-sweet, they go down easy. Like anything good, no cholesterol is spared in their creation. Coconut milk and some deadly combination of butter, margarine and oil earn them their affectionate nickname. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.

Tamarind Cafe - Luang Prabang, Laos

Caroline (center), co-owner of Tamarind Cafe in Luang Prabang, served as our mighty guide, navigating us through Phousy Market, educating us in authentic Lao cooking and food culture along the way. Her fluency in Lao allowed her to ask vendors such questions as "how do you cook that skinned pig's face?" or "how exactly do you eat a full pig's uterus?" Her love of Lao cuisine and culture was contagious. Oddly enough, authentic Lao food can be difficult to find in well-touristed areas like Luang Prabang, where Thai curries are often cloaked as local fare. Thanks to Caroline and this tour, we had a greater appreciation of Lao food and knew what to look for. Each time we would request a traditional Lao dish at a restaurant, the staff would often perk up, often making it for us even if it wasn't on the menu. The assumption is often that most tourists aren't interested. Our tour companions included two Americans doing volunteer work in Bangkok and traveling Southeast Asia during their weekends off. Learn more about Lao cuisine and markets.