Shadowed spices

By Kyle Mitchell Source:Global Times Published: 2014-5-9 5:03:01

Snacks at the night market Photo: Kyle Mitchell



The night market in Laos Photo: Kyle Mitchell



 

Snacks at the night market Photo: Kyle Mitchell



 

Snacks at the night market Photo: Kyle Mitchell



The culinary map of Southeast Asia is becoming more charted  by eaters across the world. Any big city boasts at least a score of Vietnamese, Thai, Malay, and Singaporean spots serving up authentic flavors.

But within that same canon of cuisines, you'd be hard pressed to find Laotian food.

Laos has always seemed to hide in the shadows relative to the bright glow of its neighbors. As a rather insular country, the best way to get to know the food of this land is to head to the source and track it down as you travel.

Guesthouse grub

The majority of journeys in Laos begin by crossing a land border into the country as part of a wider tour of the region. With a visa-on-arrival policy for most nationalities, all it takes is $30-$35 (plus maybe a little extra…), and you're in.

Most travelers end up staying in the backpacker ghettos that can be found in nearly any city in Laos. Rooms are cheap, though not quite as low as in neighboring Thailand, coming out to about $13-$22 a night for a basic room with AC and shower.

Lining these same streets are guesthouses that double as restaurants full of English menus serving a typically spotty international selection of "Western Breakfast," sandwiches, pizza, fried rice, and curry. Sadly these nearly identical menus all relegate Laotian dishes to the back pages, like an afterthought.

What these spots do excel in is serving as hubs of travelers drawn in by WiFi, caffeine, and a taste of home. It's easy to spend hours at these guesthouse restaurants talking and setting up what the next adventure of the trip will be.

But the real flavors sit outside these zones.

Street markets

One of the highlights of exploring Laos on foot is the stands on every block in town selling fruit shakes made with local tropical fruits. The high-pitched whizz of these blenders fills the streets.

Point at the fruit on display and blend up your own concoction. Mango, coconut, dragon fruit, papaya, plus wild looking unknown jungle fruits are popular options. Or if fruit isn't your style, go for a plastic bag full of freshly pressed sugar cane juice swimming in ice. At only about a dollar apiece, either option is cheapest way to fight the overpowering tropic sun.

Come dusk each night the quiet lanes of Laos morph into light and smoke filled alleys when the street vendors set up shop. Every town will have some sort of night market, but the largest are to be found in Vientiane or Luang Prabang.

Typically in the center of town there will be a souvenir market that focuses more towards tourist tastes in goods and food. Prices from the crepes, octopus, or simple BBQ stands reflect this.

In Luang Prabang there is a famous stand towards the western end of the night market on Sisavangvong Rd. that serves up all you can eat single plates of vegetarian food for $1.50. While not mind blowing by any degree, it's among the thriftiest ways to fill your belly in one of the priciest neighborhoods in the country.

On the more local side of things the best way to track down authentic flavor is to rent a scooter for about $15 a day and aimlessly drive around until the signs change from English to the flowing script of Laos.

Stands at these local markets serve up everything from mundane banana pancakes to crickets and grilled skewers of baby frogs. In the middle bracket there are legitimately scrumptious options like Luang Prabang sausage, salt covered roasted fish, grilled chilies wrapped in banana leafs, or papaya salad pounded out in a mortar to order. Search out bamboo steamers set on top of metal pots for the sticky rice that Laos is famous for to accompany your meal.

Francophile treats

The first sign that the French once ruled these lands are the countless baguettes vendor.

At morning markets or by the open-air bus stations vendors walk around carrying baskets hung from a pole over their shoulder selling fresh baked bread. Into these hot and crackly baguettes you get a choice of condensed milk or a Laotian version of a Banh Mi with headcheese, pate, and aromatic herbs.

Set in the old historic colonial districts of Vientiane or Luang Prabang are more cafés than even the most glutinous Parisian could be happy at, serving croissants that blend well with locally grown coffee.

Laos BBQ

The liveliest restaurant in any town or city in Laos will almost certainly be a Sin Dad, or BBQ joint. These spots unite together the glory that is charcoal grilled meat with hot pot, all done tableside.

Guidebooks will tell you that this is Korean BBQ, but they are wrong. This stuff is local and plays an entirely different game.

On the riverbanks that most Lao towns are built upon there are scores of these open-air restaurants that would be packed to the rafters if there were any.

This feast starts with glowing coals that are brought to your table. On top of this simmering fire is set a round metal pan. In the center is a domed lattice of grill grates, here is for your BBQ. Ringing that grill on the outer edge is a moat of broth that serves as a hot pot. All the juices and fats that run off the grill go directly into the hot pot broth adding even more flavor.

Once cooked both items from the grill or hot pot get dunked into Suki sauce, an elevated peanut sauce. For a bit of extra flavor diners can squeeze rounds of lime into the sauce, or add a splash of chilies that have been macerated in soy.

This makes for a flavor bomb of a sauce that leaves diners unsatisfied by the one note sesame sauce that partners hotpot to the north.


Newspaper headline: Laos cuisine has been unfairly overlooked


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