The 7 Most Attractive Dishes in Laos for Gourmet Travelers

by Seni World Jul 31, 2023

Asian cuisine always has it own special features and the cuisine in Laos – the Land of a Million Elephants is such a great example. With amazing recipes, Laotians really boost their food to the upper level. Coming to this beautiful country, many visitors especially food lovers are fond of the abundance of unique flavors of Laos food. Thus, some attractive and delicious dishes listed below might be useful suggestions for your first coming to Laos.

1. Khao Niaw (Sticky rice)

As a country having the long history of doing agriculture, rice is the foundation of every meal in Laos. The rice will be put into a bamboo basket and then steamed. It can be clenched into pieces or kneaded into small ball to eat. Moreover, it can be served to eat with many dishes in order to spice up the flavor. Do not forget to try it and let’s try eating sticky rice with your fingers like Laotians do to find the new experience.

2. Larb (Minced meat salad)

Larb means lucky in Laotian language, thus, this is one of the most popular dishes which should be tried for any visit to this country. The main ingredient is stir-fried minced pork flavored with fish source, lime, chilies, shallots and mint leaves. This traditional dish can be served with rice or can be processed as Laos salad for vegetarian.

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3. Khao Jee (Baguette)

After a long time, coming to Laos visitors see the effect of French on Laos through not only architecture but cuisine as well. Khao Jee or Baguette sandwich is such transparent evidence. Walking on any small or big streets in every Laos’s city, you will easily come across Khao Jee on the food carts. The delicious baguette is filled with pork pate, sausage, radish, carrot, cucumber, mayonnaise and chili sauce. Its stunning flavor definitely can make you want to eat more.

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4. Tam Mak Hoong

Tam Mak Hoong or green papaya salad use shreds of unripe papaya as the main ingredient. Although the flavor of Tam Mak Hoong is various in different Laos’ regions, this dish usually has the helping of palm sugar, lime garlic, tomatoes, peanut and chilies. Except for unripe papaya, fish sauce and dried shrimp can be seen as the key ingredients supporting for its taste.

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5. Khao Piak Sen (Laos Noodle Soup)

One of the most common but tasty dishes which are served for breakfast or maybe for anytime of the day in Laos is Khao Piak Sen. Instead of making with wheat, the noodle in Khao Piak Sen is made with rice. Like Pho in Vietnam, the soup of the dish is the broth cooked with bone or meat. That makes the dish have the best flavor. Besides, the dish also comes with other ingredients such as bean sprouts, lemongrass, garlic and herbs (basil, mint, etc.). You can make the noodle tastier with lime and chili pastes.

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6. Laos Sausage

Laos Sausage or ‘sai oua’ is popular in Laos. It is made from chopped pork mixed with galangal, kaffir leaves, chilies, shallots, lemongrass and flavored with fish sauce. It is delicious to eat with sticky rice or fresh vegetable.

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7. Sien Savanh (Laos Beef Jerky)

It’s worth trying Sien Savanh, which are suitable for travelling and easy to find in bus stations. The bites of beef will be marinated with garlic, dark soy, pepper, oyster sauce and palm sugar. Then they will be left to dry in sunlight to get the chewy, sticky beef snack. It can be served with sticky rice or tomato based chili dip.

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