Unique Lao cuisine

Famous for its rustic and simple dishes, Lao cuisine satisfies Vietnamese diners with its unique and attractive flavors. Therefore, many Vietnamese people in general and Quang Tri people in particular have chosen Lao food during the New Year. Many restaurants and eateries specializing in Lao cuisine have also appeared in Quang Tri, attracting many diners to learn and enjoy.

Spicy, hot food

When it comes to Lao food, most people in Quang Tri have heard of it and enjoyed it a few times. As for me, during my nearly 1-week business trip to the southern provinces of Laos, I was fortunate to be introduced by a colleague from another country so I enjoyed quite a few of the local specialties. It is easy to see that Lao people like to eat grilled and fried dishes, but they must be prepared with the required levels of saltiness - sweetness - sourness - spiciness. The common point of Lao food is not fussy about aesthetics but it focuses a lot on flavor, every dish must be rich and have a variety of elaborate accompanying dipping sauces.

Ms. Xi Xu Van prepares Lao sausage and laap for diners - Photo: LT

Visiting Densavanh village, Sepon district, Savannakhet province, I was taken by a friend to Loungaloun restaurant, which specializes in Lao specialties. Talking to reporters, Ms. Xi Xu Van, the restaurant owner, shared that compared to Vietnamese cuisine, Lao food is somewhat simpler. The characteristic of the culinary culture here is the simplicity in the preparation and inexpensive ingredients. In addition, spicy is also a favorite flavor in Lao people's daily dishes. The reason may be because most Lao people do quite hard work, spicy dishes will therefore stimulate the taste buds and help make the appetite better.

While nimbly peeling the papaya into strips to prepare the Laotian dish, Mr. Lit Ki Phong, Ms. Van's husband, shared that in Laotian culinary culture, fish sauce is the most commonly used condiment and most dishes are prepared with fish sauce. Among them, the pa dec fish sauce is made from distilled and fermented fish and crab. This is the main ingredient that creates the richness of many Laotian specialties, such as the dish xum.

Xụm in Lao is tam mak hung, made from shredded papaya mixed with chili, tomato, onion, lemon, salt, sugar and fish sauce to create an attractive dish. Tam mak hung is the dish that best represents the combination of sour - spicy - salty - sweet flavors mixed between vegetables and fruits and the spicy, salty flavor of fish sauce. Xụm is often eaten with sticky rice, so it is commonly called xoi xum.

Lao people mainly eat sticky rice (khao nieu) which is stored in woven bamboo baskets to keep it warm and convenient to carry. Lao people like to use their hands to form sticky rice into small balls, dip them in sauce or eat them with food. This simple way of eating, according to Lit Ki Phong, will help diners fully feel the aroma and natural sweetness of each grain of sticky rice.

Lao dishes are not elaborately decorated but are rich in flavor and very spicy - Photo: LT

According to Ms. Xi Xu Van, because the restaurant is located in the border area, many Vietnamese people come to enjoy and buy Lao specialties, especially during the traditional Vietnamese New Year. In addition to sticky rice, Loungaloun restaurant specializes in preparing lap dishes made from minced meat mixed with fish sauce, lemon, chili, and herbs.

Lao people believe that this is a lucky dish, often given as gifts during Tet. Or or lam (spicy stew), originating from the ancient capital of Luang Prabang; steamed fish, grilled fish with salt... In addition, dishes such as siensavanh dried beef, sai oua Lao sausage, and nem Lao are also suitable as gifts. These are dry dishes that can be kept for a long time, made from fresh pork, but different from Vietnam, the ingredients include lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal and chili.

After a while of research, we began to enjoy the dishes prepared by Xi Xu Van and his wife. Indeed, looking at the decoration, the grilled salted fish, sticky rice, and sausage dishes were very simple, but the taste was very rich and spicy.

Lao cuisine in Quang Tri

Quang Tri province shares a border with many localities of Laos, so the culinary culture exchange between the two countries is quite strong. With this characteristic, the culinary culture of the two ethnic groups blends and complements each other, creating a very unique culinary feature in the border region.

To confirm the uniqueness of Lao cuisine in Quang Tri, after a business trip to the neighboring country, I went to Lao Bao town, Huong Hoa district - a border area to better understand Lao cuisine. There are quite a few restaurants selling Lao dishes. These restaurants were enjoyed and adapted to Lao dishes by local people during their many years of trading in the neighboring country, so they became familiar with it and then became a business item.

Coming to Lao Bao, when mentioning Lao dishes, the locals will introduce Me Vat restaurant. Born and raised in Savannakhet province, with her experience and cooking talent, Me Vat has opened a shop specializing in Lao specialties in Lao Bao town for over 10 years and always attracts a lot of customers to come and enjoy.

According to Mother Vat, Lao dishes are characterized by using spices such as ginger, tamarind, lemon leaves and many types of very spicy dried chilies. The main flavor in most dishes is a lot of chilies, because chilies are an indispensable part of Lao cuisine and its spiciness has become a cultural feature.

For Vietnamese diners when coming here, most of them like to eat grilled dishes, sticky rice, dried beef, sausage, ... which are famous dishes in the land of a million elephants. Because the taste of diners here is not spicy, during the preparation process, the restaurant owner has to adjust the flavors to suit the users, but the way of making and the tools are still kept the same as the Lao tradition.

Many Lao dishes introduced at Lao Bao Border Market attract a lot of buyers - Photo: LT

Coming to Lao Bao, in addition to enjoying Lao dried dishes at Me Vat restaurant, we cannot help but mention Lao porridge. This is the dish that best represents the fusion of Vietnamese and Lao cuisine. A bowl of porridge is made from two main ingredients: Vietnamese duck meat and Lao noodles. The difference of Lao porridge is that it uses Lao noodles that are thick, white, chewy and delicious. Most importantly, it is the secret of the restaurant owner with the experience of learning from Laos during many years of living.

With the same taste as “water dishes” like Lao porridge, diners can enjoy a delicious dish - Laotian hot pot and grill right in this border town. With the typical hot pot design, the grilled dishes are placed around a raised charcoal stove surrounded by water. Diners can eat the grilled dishes on top and the hot pot on the bottom.

When eating, many people will be surprised by the unique cooking method and the unusual shape of this high-class hot pot. And when enjoying, users will feel the aroma of grilled meat, the rich fat flowing from the oven into the pot of broth along with the "combo" of sour and spicy dipping sauce from exotic Lao vegetables.

Not only in Lao Bao town, now, Lao specialties have been enjoyed by many young people in Dong Ha city, Cam Lo, Vinh Linh... because of their love and passion for Lao cuisine, they have boldly opened restaurants, shops to do business or opened livestream sessions on social networks to introduce, promote and sell products such as ingredients and tools for preparing Lao dishes, attracting a lot of customers to learn and enjoy.

As a child living in the mountainous district of Huong Hoa, with a Lao mother and a Pa Ko father, after graduating from university, Ms. Le Thi Chung Nhi always sought to spread more Lao culinary culture to the Vietnamese people.

After much research, Nhi decided to change direction to selling food, ingredients and utensils for Lao cuisine by regularly having livestream sessions on Facebook and TikTok to introduce, promote and sell products. Currently, Chung Nhi's social media channels attract a large number of followers to learn about and buy products.

Also sticky rice, fish, vegetables, dipping sauce... but Lao people have a very unique way of processing that makes tourists, especially Vietnamese people, always want to come and enjoy. At the end of December 2024, the People's Committee of Lao Bao town, Huong Hoa district organized the Lao Bao Border Market every Saturday at Lao Bao Trade Center with many stalls of Lao cuisine. Hopefully, this will be an address connecting those who love Lao cuisine to learn and enjoy.

Le Truong

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/doc-dao-am-thuc-lao-191412.htm