Sao Darly

How to Make Larb Pa Tong

DJ — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:57:46 +0000

I was on the phone with Aunt Phone a couple of weeks ago and she was about to make dinner. Aunt Phone just finished filleting Pa Tong (Spotted featherback, Notopterus chitala) and will be making Larb Pa Tong (Fish Tartare) in a couple of hours. I asked her to make a video recording of the [...]

How to Make Larb Pa Tong

Kaeng Kee Lek in Vientiane

DJ — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:37:04 +0000

Sao Darly

It’s that time of the year when Bai Kee Lek (cassia leaf) is in season. Aunt Kian and Aunt Phone have been making Kaeng Kee Lek (Lao Curry) a few times for lunch and dinner last month. This version my two aunts made for lunch was with leg bones from pork rather than with ant [...]

Kaeng Kee Lek in Vientiane

Tom Khem for lunch

DJ — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:33:38 +0000

Sao Darly

Tom Khem (Sweet Salted Pork Stew With Hard Boiled Eggs) for lunch in Vientiane, Laos. Aunt Phone has been making many dishes using pork meat since beef prices have not gone down last month. She makes Tom Khem once a week next to Larb Moo and Kaeng Moo. For this particular day, Aunt Phone made [...]

Tom Khem for lunch

Larb Moo and Kaeng Moo

DJ — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:01:02 +0000

Sao Darly

Beef prices are quite high in Vientiane, Laos at the moment for the average working people. The alternative to beef for many people are pork and pork fat to feed the family. Aunt Phone loves to eat pork meat and has been making Larb Moo (Minced Pork Salad) for lunch and dinner like once a [...]

Larb Moo and Kaeng Moo

Rice Vermicelli with Chilli Pepper Sauce

DJ — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:23:20 +0000

Sao Darly

Khao Poon Nam Phik (Rice Vermicelli with Chilli Pepper Sauce) for lunch in Vientiane, Laos. Aunt Kian and Aunt Phone made the Nam Khao Poon with fish and plenty of pork blood cubes. They even had banana blossom for the herbs and vegetables part of the soup. I wish I could have been there to [...]

Rice Vermicelli with Chilli Pepper Sauce

Koy Pa with Kaeng Pa

DJ — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:27:17 +0000

Sao Darly

Koy Pa (Lao Fish Minced Salad) with Kaeng Pa (Lao Fish Soup) for dinner in Vientiane, Laos. Aunt Tou was visiting from Pakse and brought some fishes to the relatives in Vientiane. Aunt Kiane and Aunt Phone were busy preparing food for friends and relatives on the first night of Aunt Tou’s arrival in town. [...]

Koy Pa with Kaeng Pa

Tam maak taeng for Sunday’s snack

DJ — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 12:04:16 +0000

Sao Darly

Holland Cucumber was on sale at the local market last week. I bought a couple of them and made Tam Maak Taeng (Lao Spicy Cucumber Salad) for an afternoon snack on Sunday. Rather than shredding the cucumber into long thing strips like I normally do, I sliced it into thin pieces for the salad. During [...]

Tam maak taeng for Sunday’s snack

Tam Maak Hoong and Friends

DJ — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 12:35:37 +0000

Sao Darly

Tam Maak Hoong aka Lao Green Papaya Salad with Som Moo (Soured Pork Sausage), Kiep Moo (Pork Rinds), and Sai Aur Luang Prabang (Luang Prabang Sausage). There was no sticky rice to go with the Lao Green Papaya Salad but a big plate of Khua Mee (Lao Fried Noodles), sliced cabbage and Lao water spinach [...]

Tam Maak Hoong and Friends

Fish Wraps for lunch

DJ — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:11:55 +0000

Sao Darly

My relatives invited me for lunch and I was treated to one of my favorite Lao Food dish, Pun Pa Nin (Fish Wraps using grilled fish). The farmed Tilapia fish was stuffed with herbs such as lemongrass, dill, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves. It was then seasoned with salt and cooked on charcoal grill. There [...]

Fish Wraps for lunch

Tam Mak Muang, Phak I Leut, Mak Len Mai

DJ — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:26:17 +0000

Sao Darly

When I was in Laos last year, I was introduced to Green Mango Salad with Phak I Leut and Mak Len Mai Leaf. I bought a handful of Mak Len Mai Leaf at the Morning Market in Luang Prabang and took it home to my relatives. They told me the leaf is delicious with Tam [...]

Tam Mak Muang, Phak I Leut, Mak Len Mai

Green Mango off a Tree

DJ — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:28:52 +0000

Sao Darly

Green Mango and Chili Dipping Sauce for an afternoon snack in Luang Prabang. It’s always fun to pick your own young green mango right of a tree during the mango season months. Many of my relatives would have a few mango trees on their land and other edible fruit trees. The dipping sauce above is [...]

Green Mango off a Tree

Hamachi Christmas Menu

DJ — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 01:30:52 +0000

Sao Darly

I was under a weather last week and was not eating or drinking much of anything. For Christmas Dinner, I wanted to make Fish Fondue and was looking forward to a big pot of fish and vegetables. However, I was not recovering fast enough from my illness and was feeling quite weak a couple of [...]

Hamachi Christmas Menu

Young Green Mango with Chili Sauce

DJ — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 16:21:40 +0000

Sao Darly

Young Green Mango with Chili Dipping Sauce for an afternoon snack. I wanted to treat myself to something sour and spicy while waiting for Christmas Dinner. I had three small green mangoes left in the refrigerator and decided to make green mango snack. The sauce has the following ingredients: fish sauce, sugar, shallot, chili pepper, [...]

Young Green Mango with Chili Sauce

Ban Ling San Boat Racing Festival

DJ — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:30:22 +0000

Sao Darly

My uncle has a passion for Boun Suang Heua (Boat Racing Festival). He would travel around the country whenever he could to attend Boat Racing Festival in various provinces of Laos. With work and family he can’t attend all of the races but would make sure he could go to Ban Ling San Boat Racing [...]

Ban Ling San Boat Racing Festival

Food at That Luang Festival 2012

DJ — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:33:48 +0000

Sao Darly

My two aunts and two cousins went to Boun That Luang on the last day of the festival for the Thak Baht ceremony. After making offerings to the Buddhist Monks, they went to sit down and ate Khao Poon and Tom Kai for breakfast. After their meal, it was time for a little shopping, buying [...]

Food at That Luang Festival 2012

Khua Sen Lon and Khao Lod Chong

DJ — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:24:22 +0000

Sao Darly

Khua Sen Lon (Fried Cellophane noodles) and Nam Varn Khao Lod Chong (Pandan Noodles with Coconut Milk) for lunch in Vientiane, Laos. Aunt Phone likes to make Fried Noodles for just about any type of noodles that are available in Laos. It is a bit of a heavy lunch with greasy noodles with pork and [...]

Khua Sen Lon and Khao Lod Chong

Larb Pa

DJ — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:21:45 +0000

Sao Darly

Larb Pa for lunch in Vientiane, Laos. This is a cooked version of Larb Pa, served with vegetables, fish soup, and warm sticky rice. Aunt Kian is afraid to eat raw Larb Pa. She always cooks it well done for the family members. The fish that is used for Larb Pa is known as Pa [...]

Larb Pa

Kaeng Nor Mai and Or Kai

DJ — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:55:25 +0000

Sao Darly

Kaeng Nor Mai (Lao Bamboo Shoot Soup) for lunch in Vientiane, Laos. Aunt Kian made it with no meat or fish in it. She uses pumpkin in the soup and plenty of Bai Ya Nang (Tiliacora triandra) to give that nice green curry look. As Tai Pakse, Aunt Kian prefers to have Pak Ka in [...]

Kaeng Nor Mai and Or Kai

Pun Pa for Dinner in Vientiane

DJ — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:59:46 +0000

Sao Darly

For tonight’s dinner in Vientiane, it was one of the family’s favorite dish, which is no other than Pun Pa or Fish Wrap. It takes a bit of time to make this dish, having to clean the fish and grill it, then washing all the herbs and vegetables. The only easy part about making Pun [...]

Pun Pa for Dinner in Vientiane

Mee Kati for dinner

DJ — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:34:21 +0000

Sao Darly

Mee Kati (Rice Stick Noodles with Coconut Milk) for dinner in Vientiane, Laos. Aunt Kiane and Aunt Phone made this dish to celebrate Boun Ork Phansa or End of the Buddhist Lent Festival. In the morning the two aunts went to Wattay Temple to make offerings to the Buddhist Monks. Then they were busy making [...]

Mee Kati for dinner