RECIPES: The flavors of Laos lead to salads with summertime flair
Laab, a salad of ground meat and herbs seasoned with fish sauce and lime juice, is sometimes said to be the national dish of Laos, the landlocked Southeast Asian country that borders China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Lao cuisine may be similar to that of its geographic neighbors, but the fermented fish sauce, lemongrass, tiny Thai chiles, lots of lime juice and abundant use of fresh herbs set Lao cooking apart.
Atlanta-based Lao American Ilene Rouamvongsor works as a recipe developer, food stylist and food educator, and occasionally demonstrates recipes and provides samples of dishes made with seasonal ingredients, often with Lao flavors, at local farmers markets. She enjoys talking with shoppers about the dishes she makes and helping spark their curiosity. “They’ll ask, ‘What is that flavor?’ and I explain it’s fish sauce or toasted ground rice. We talk about sources and where they can find Lao food in the area.”
Rouamvongsor grew up in Burlington, North Carolina, in a household she describes as very much Southern but also very much Lao. When her Lao mother married into a Southern family, summer trips included visits to Swannanoa, North Carolina, and meals with plenty of casseroles and pimento cheese sandwiches.
She remembers realizing in middle school that what she was eating was different from what her peers ate. When she served her best friend a snack of tuna sauteed with onion and garlic and a side of sticky rice, her friend was astonished, having never eaten tuna that hadn’t been turned into a mayonnaise-based sandwich filling.
“If people thought about Asian food, they thought about Chinese food, or Japanese. That was almost 20 years ago.”
The food she ate at home was most often the food of Laos. “My grandmother took turns staying with us and then staying with my aunt. My grandmother and aunt cooked Lao food exclusively, and it’s really my comfort food,” she said. “A meal would often include grilled meats, at least two different dipping sauces, a variety of salads, and lots of herbs and greens.”
Rouamvongsor says Lao salads are a mainstay of many meals, each salad a mix of ingredients tossed in what she calls the “umami bomb” of lime juice, herbs and fish sauce, and part of a wide variety of dishes, all served family-style.
She describes the flavors of Lao food as “spicy, loud, punchy, hitting all your taste buds” with lots of sour and bitterness, but always well-balanced. “I have so much pride in my Lao culture, but since I am not fluent in the language, I feel especially connected through the cuisine. Now people seem to know more about the food of Laos, and it has always brought me great joy to educate them about Lao food and cook for them.”
RECIPES
Lao American Atlanta recipe developer and food stylist Ilene Rouamvongsor provided recipes for three traditional Lao salads just right for summer meals. Enjoy them one at a time, or serve them together. The recipes as written will be spicy. Adjust the amount of peppers to suit your taste and remove the seeds if you would like to reduce the heat.
Laab Gai (Chicken Salad)
The herbs, citrus and fish sauce provide rich, bright flavor for this salad. The ingredients include toasted sticky rice powder, which adds a nutty flavor. Look for it at a store carrying Asian groceries, or make it at home by toasting glutinous rice and grinding it with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
The filtered fish sauce here is the Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce found at Asian grocers and in grocery stores well-stocked with international food.
Asian grocery stores may have frozen chopped lemongrass available, and Rouamvongsor says that’s an acceptable substitute for fresh.
The salad is served by scooping the chicken mixture onto cabbage leaves.
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 pound ground chicken breast
- Pinch table salt
- 6 large makrut lime leaves, finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped light green part of lemongrass stalk
- 2 tablespoons filtered fish sauce
- 4 tablespoons lime juice, or to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup whole mint leaves
- 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sticky rice powder
- Thai chile pepper flakes or thinly sliced fresh Thai chile peppers, to taste
- Cabbage wedges and lime slices, for serving
- Add water to a large skillet over medium-high heat. As soon as the water is steaming, add ground chicken and cook until done, about 5 minutes, breaking up the chicken as it cooks until it is in fine crumbles. Season with salt while it is cooking. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, then drain off any liquid in the skillet.
- In a medium bowl, combine cooked chicken with makrut lime leaves, lemongrass and fish sauce. Add lime juice. Taste and add more lime juice if desired. Add cilantro, mint and rice powder and toss to combine. Add Thai chile pepper flakes or fresh Thai chiles. Move mixture to a serving platter and add cabbage wedges and lime slices. Serve immediately.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per 1/2 cup serving: 90 calories (percent of calories from fat, 19), 15 grams protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, trace total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 2 grams total fat (trace saturated fat), 47 milligrams cholesterol, 53 milligrams sodium.Note: For nutritional calculations, the pinch of salt is defined as 1/16 teaspoon.
Thum Mak Tua (Long Bean Salad)
This muddled bean salad is traditionally made using a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, put the ingredients into a large bowl and crush the ingredients for the sauce with a tool like the end of a wooden French rolling pin. Then roughly massage the beans with the dressing with your hands until the beans are lightly bruised.
Long beans are available from some local farmers and at larger markets that carry Asian groceries, where you will also find shrimp paste and padaek.
This recipe uses two kinds of fish sauce: filtered fish sauce and padaek, a traditional Lao unfiltered fish sauce made with fermented freshwater fish that is thicker and more pungent than Thai or Vietnamese fish sauces. Rouamvongsor says it is essential to the Lao flavor in this recipe. You will find it at stores that carry Asian groceries. Look for Mam New Dac Biet or Pan Lai Fish Sauce. Always shake the bottle well before measuring what you need for the recipe.
The filtered fish sauce called for in this recipe is the traditional Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce, nuoc mam or nam pla, widely available in mainstream grocery stores.
In the photo, Rouamvongsor has garnished the salad with fried pork rinds, a traditional accompaniment for any thum salad.
- 4 Thai chile peppers, stems removed, cut into thirds, more if desired
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons cane or granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste
- 8 long beans or 3/4 pound green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
- 1 Roma tomato, cored and cut into quarters
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons padaek
- 2 tablespoons filtered fish sauce
- In a large mortar and pestle, combine peppers, garlic, sugar and shrimp paste. Pound until mixture forms into a thick paste. Add green beans and pound vigorously until beans are bruised. Add tomato, shallots, lime juice, padaek and filtered fish sauce. Gently pound and toss together. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per 1/2-cup serving: 26 calories (percent of calories from fat, 7), 1 gram protein, 5 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, trace total fat (no saturated fat), 1 milligram cholesterol, 291 milligrams sodium.
Yum Salat (Lao Salad with Egg Dressing)
With the inclusion of eggs, this dish can serve as a standalone dinner as well as a dish to go alongside other salads or grilled meats. The dressing can be made in a mortar and pestle or using a food processor. In the photo, Rouamvongsor has removed strips, but not all, of the cucumber peel.
The filtered fish sauce here is the Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce found at Asian grocers and in grocery stores well-stocked with international food.
- 1 bunch leaf lettuce or romaine, cut into 2-inch strips, then cut in half (about 8 cups)
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 medium-large cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/3-inch half-moon slices
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 6 boiled eggs, eggs and yolks divided
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon cane or granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon filtered fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 3 to 9 teaspoons water
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
- In a large salad bowl, combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions and cilantro. Set aside.
- Make dressing: In a small bowl, combine cooked egg yolks, mayonnaise, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and garlic. Use a fork or potato masher to combine into a smooth paste. Add water a teaspoon at a time until the mixture reaches the consistency of heavy cream. Add a pinch of salt.
- Add half the dressing to the ingredients in the salad bowl and gently toss. Slice the cooked egg whites into thirds and add to salad, then drizzle salad with remaining dressing. Serve immediately, garnished with peanuts.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per cup: 154 calories (percent of calories from fat, 50), 8 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total sugars, 5 grams fiber, 9 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 126 milligrams cholesterol, 114 milligrams sodium.Note: For nutritional calculations, the pinch of salt is defined as 1/16 teaspoon.
Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
