Laos

A Cambodian and Lao dessert of glutinous rice enriched with coconut cream, wrapped around ripe banana, and steamed inside a banana leaf.

A Laotian street‑food dish of spatchcocked chicken marinated in lemongrass, turmeric, and fish sauce, charcoal‑grilled until charred and fragrant.

A sweet, smoky, sticky Lao chilli relish made from roasted dried chillies, galangal, garlic and shallots pounded together, traditionally enriched with strips of dried buffalo skin.

A Lao comfort noodle soup of fresh, hand-cut chewy rice-and-tapioca noodles served in a long-simmered pork or chicken bone broth, finished with herbs and fried shallots.

A Lao street sandwich of a crisp toasted French baguette filled with pâté, Lao sausage or cold cuts, and pickled vegetables with chili and herbs.

A Laotian comfort soup of fresh, chewy tapioca-and-rice-flour noodles in a clear chicken or pork broth, served with herbs and lime.

A Laotian grilled pork sausage of coarsely chopped pork packed with lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal, chilli and herbs, then grilled over charcoal.

A clear, potent distilled spirit made from fermented glutinous rice, traditionally home-produced across Laos and drunk socially.

A Lao and Isan minced or hand-chopped meat salad dressed with toasted rice powder, fresh lime juice, fish sauce, dried chili flakes, and an abundance of raw herbs — served at room temperature as a central dish alongside sticky rice.

A Lao dish of fish wrapped in banana leaf and steamed with lemongrass, dill, galangal, and padaek (fermented fish sauce).

A Lao crispy rice salad in which deep-fried curried-coconut rice balls are crumbled and tossed with fermented sour pork, peanuts, fresh herbs, and lime, then eaten wrapped in lettuce.

A northern Lao rice-noodle soup in a savory tomato-and-pork broth enriched with fermented soybean paste, topped with a pork-tomato meat sauce and fresh herbs — distinct from the Thai coconut-curry khao soi.

A Lao slow-simmered stew of meat and vegetables thickened with toasted rice, distinguished by the tongue-numbing sakhan (pepper-wood) vine and eggplant.

Padaek is the foundational Lao condiment made from whole or chunked freshwater fish long-fermented with salt and toasted rice bran, yielding a pungent, thick, umami-saturated paste that seasons nearly every dish in Lao cuisine.

A pounded salad of julienned unripe green papaya bruised in a mortar with padaek (fermented fish condiment), fresh lime juice, bird's eye chilies, garlic, and tomato, calibrated to a loud simultaneous balance of sour, salty, spicy, and lightly sweet with deep fermented umami.

A fresh, grilled pork sausage from Laos and northern Thailand packed with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf and chilli, coiled in a natural casing.

Sticky rice is a preparation of glutinous rice that is soaked and steamed until its grains become cohesive and pliable, traditionally served by hand as a staple or dessert.

Tam Mak Hoong is a pounded green papaya salad from Laos, combining shredded papaya, lime juice, chili, tomato, and fermented fish sauce or crab.