A vegetarian buffet in Luang Prabang, Laos
A vegetarian buffet in Luang Prabang, Laos

Yum Yum in Laos … a tasty look at local food

Laotian Curries, Rice and Noodles

Much of the food in Laos is similar to food in Thailand, with a steady diet of curries, fried rice and fried noodles with your choice of with vegetables, egg, chicken, pork or fish. Curry soups are also very popular and most dishes are supplemented by a wicker basket of sticky rice. The idea is to ball up the rice in your hand and dip it into a coconut milk, yellow, red or green curry sauce

 

Tofu and veggies in a green coconut sauce with sticky rice in a basket
Tofu and veggies in a green coconut sauce with sticky rice in a basket

 

A heaping plate of vegetarian food at the Luang Prabang night market
A heaping plate of vegetarian food at the Luang Prabang night market

 

Most tables in Laos have a combination of catsup, fish sauce and sugar
Most tables in Laos have a combination of catsup, fish sauce and sugar

 

Dried fish in Laos
Dried fish are a staple of Laotian food, and are used to make curry paste and to flake over meals

Other Local Laotian Food

A few other local dishes I sampled were a papaya salad, meatballs with peanut sauce and laarb, which is the national dish. Consisting of chopped chicken, beef or fish, laarb is flavored with lime, mint, chili powder and fish sauce (but not on mine).

Some dishes I didn’t get to try included dried out fish hanging in the sun, some form of boiled egg that is roasted over a flame, fermented eggs, snails, scary looking soups with full animal heads still attached and dead squirrels that I saw for sale on a street corner.

 

Boiled and roasted eggs on a grill in Laos
Boiled and roasted eggs on a grill in Laos

 

Chicken head soup in the Luang Prabang night market, Laos
Chicken head soup in the Luang Prabang night market, Laos

 

Chicken laarb (laab) in Laos
Chicken laarb (laab) in Laos

 

Dead squirrels for sale on the roadside
Dead squirrels for sale on the roadside

 

Snails for sale in the Luang Prabang night market in Laos
Snails for sale in the Luang Prabang night market in Laos

 

Red hot chili peppers for sale in Laos
Laotian food is SPICY!

Food for Tourists

Western food is also very popular: at least in the more touristy areas. Most restaurants have some form of burger, pizza, pasta, omelets or other comfort food. But the best are the sandwiches from the street stalls. Every five feet a local vendor sells baguettes filled with ham, bacon, egg, chicken, veggies, cheese (mostly smeared Laughing Cow) or pate. I can’t even count how many I ate during our two weeks in Laos, but they were all awesome and filling.

 

An egg omelette sandwich, covered in cheese — for sale in Vang Viang
An egg omelette sandwich, covered in cheese — for sale in Vang Viang

Coffee, Shakes and Sweet Milk

Drinks-wise, every corner offers fresh fruit shakes for $1 or less. Needless to say I had at least a few pineapple shakes a day. Laos coffee is also very good, strong and sweet, as it comes with a thick layer of sweet condensed milk. I usually hate coffee but found myself loving this one. The national beer is Beer Lao and is somewhat lacking in taste but benefits from a few shakes of salt.

 

The fruit shake lady in the Louang Phabang night market
The fruit shake lady in the Louang Phabang night market