Comments on: Lao Food Lowdown

By: Daniel Noll

Daniel Noll — Sat, 08 Jun 2019 11:41:53 +0000

In reply to Pat. Thanks for the note, Pat -- and addition of tham mak hoong, traditional Lao papaya salad.

By: Pat

Pat — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 19:55:18 +0000

Dear Daniel and Audrey.
It has been almost 12 years since the appearance of your excellent article. I would like just to add that another dish that is a typical Laotian food staple is papaya salad. This dish can be found everywhere in Laos. There are so many varieties of it from sweet to heavily pungent, but we love to eat any of these with sticky rice and grilled chicken. It’s also has become very popular in Thailand.
Best
Pat

By: Daniel Noll

Daniel Noll — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:23:22 +0000

@Shannon: Terrific. What was the vegetarian laap (or laab or larb) made of? Was there a meat replacement like tofu?

As attention to all ethnic cuisines grows, I imagine it becomes easier to find true Lao food. In any event, I hope you enjoy a few afternoons of the Lao trinity while in Luang Prabang: sticky rice, khai paen, and jaew bong (though you’ll have to make sure it’s minus the buffalo skin).

By: Shannon O'Donnell

Shannon O'Donnell — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 03:47:19 +0000

I managed to find a place for vegetarian laap and loved it! I’ll be in Laos in a couple of weeks, so I’m intrigued to hunt down this restaurant. Like you say, it was so hard to find many Lao specific dishes 🙂

By: foodlover

foodlover — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:35:13 +0000

Thanks for the great blog. I did notice one minor mistake, however. I’m noticing a trend in which people tend to assume that curries came from Thailand. You have to remember that both Laos and Thailand had incoporated coconut-milk curries from local Mon/Khmer cuisines since the regions where Laos and Thailand are presently located were once a part of the Mon kingdom and Khmer (Cambodian) Empire. Thailand helped to make coconut-milk curries popular in Western countries, but those actual curries in SE Asia did not come from Thailand. Like other SE Asian countries, Thailand was influenced by the local Mon/Khmer people. Not enough credit is given to Mon/Khmer people for introducing coconut-milk and curries. In short, those curries in Laos are Lao-derived curries from Cambodia just like how many of the curries in Thailand are Thai-derived dishes from Cambodia/Malaysia/Indonesia. Please help inform other people including some misinformed Laotians who are not aware of the true origins of those curry dishes.

By: Audrey

Audrey — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 13:53:17 +0000

Hi Kevin,
You captured Southeast Asian markets perfectly – beautiful, sweet rambutans in one corner and barrels of rotting fish in the other. We had fun sharing this market tour with you.
Cheers,
Audrey

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:19:48 +0000

Hi Cathy,
Glad you liked the vegetarian warning on the video. The Luang Prabang market was great, but like all good meat markets, we’re sure it has converted its share of former meat-lovers to vegetarians.
Cau,
Dan

By: Kevin McG

Kevin McG — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 19:23:38 +0000

Suwaddee Krahp! Glad the pedicure made the video. Stunning contrast of beautiful and gnarly…. (the wonder of SouthEast Asia?). Thanks for reaching out, and nice work! Kob Khun Mah Krup!

By: Cathy

Cathy — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:32:13 +0000

I’m still smiling from the video clip of food in Luang Prabang — esp the warning for vegeterians. Ahoj, Cathy