In Luang Prabang, Laos, we took a cooking class at the Three Elephants Café. It started with a tour of the local market where there were many foods that we had never seen before plus a few, such as chiles and garlic, that we had.
chiles plus in the market in Luang Prabang
the market in Luang Prabang - I don't even know what these vegetables are called!
The Luang Prabang Salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and cooked ground pork. The dressing is made from white wine vinegar, oil, salt, sugar and hard boiled eggs pureed in a food processor, a type of home-made mayonnaise, probably the French influence here. (below)
- Luang Prabang Salad
Oh Paedak – Laos Pork Casserole, eggs & minced pork in a subtle blend of traditional Laos flavourings such as shallots, garlic, red chiles, lemongrass, galangal, paedak (shrimp paste), basil and spring onions.
Luang Prabang Pork Casserole
The Laos people love the sour flavour, hence ‘green’ (unripe) papaya salad and a squeeze of lime added to just about everything.
Laos Green Papaya Salad
‘Laarb’, mmm, also sometimes transliterated as ‘Larp’. Ground pork, banana flower, lime and lots of other flavourings and spices, often eaten rolled up in a lettuce leaf.
Laarb, also known as 'Larp', a spicy pork dish that is rolled up in lettuce leaves
Our instructor Leng Lee demonstrates the ingredients for Laarb:
subtitles for video: “one spring onion, 2 kaffir lime leaf, 2 lemongrass, 2 shallot, 2 garlic (cloves), rocket (arugula), coriander (cilantro), 2 Tbsp. banana flower (bitter flavour, substitute Belgian endive or leave out) chilli powder, chicken meat, rice powder, chicken stock, paedak, fried spring onion, now chop, lemon grass first…”
We also made ‘Feu Khua‘, fried rice noodles with chicken and vegetables; fried eggplant with pork; ¡JEOWBONG! chili paste; sticky rice; and lime pie.
Although I don’t know of any Laos Restaurants here in Vancouver, the food of Northeast Thailand is very similar and can be enjoyed at the Wimaan Restaurant on Broadway.
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- Laos Green Papaya Salad
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- chiles plus in the market in Luang Prabang
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- Laarb, also known as ‘Larp’, a spicy pork dish that is rolled up in lettuce leaves
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- Luang Prabang Pork Casserole
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- Laos Salad
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- Al eagerly awaiting dinner!
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- fried noodles with chicken & vegetables
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- the market in Luang Prabang – I don’t even know what these vegetables are called!
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- fried eggplant
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- Leng Lee, our cooking instructor at the Three Elephants Café, was a ‘high’ Laos, as they call the hilltribe people here.
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- the ingredients for Jeowbang chile paste