Restaurant Kitchen in Phongsaly

The north of Laos has a different look and feel than the rest of the country, you definitely feel the presence of its giant neighbor, China.  Its presence is felt in the look of some of the people, the food, and in the ever present signs and symbols of SinoPower, the Chinese power agency that is building hydroelectric dams throughout the area.

It was the food that concerns me here.  Phongsaly had a style of restaurant I really enjoyed.  Pick your protein and key vegetables from a refrigerator case and the chef, usually a woman, cooks them up for you as she desires.

We found pointing at what others were eating was a good technique for ordering and we did find that chicken, for example, was always prepared the same way.

Above is a kitchen from one of these restaurants.  Once again I was amazed to see who well food can be prepared without all the conveniences of our Western modern kitchens.

Dry Me Some River Weed in Laos

These racks hold drying river weed from the River Ou. All throughout Laos, women and children collect the weed from the Mekong, its tributaries and other rivers, sort it, shape, press and dry it with sesame seeds and thin slices of tomato.  The dried squares are broken into sections and eaten as a snack or used with traditional Laotian fish or vegetable pastes or dips.

The texture is much like the dried seaweed snack sheets and that product would make a good substitute.

Here is a local Nong Khiew woman preparing the weed for drying.

Spicy Wood and Water Buffalo Stew

This stew features water buffalo meat and chips of what the Laotians call "spicy wood."  I think it is called mai sakahn and is a peppery tasting vine that is just for flavoring. The chips are not eaten. The stew also contained water buffalo skin and Mekong river weed. 

It was strong flavored but good with lots of smoky overtones. 

We ate it in a restaurant in Luang Probang, Laos.

Crisps (or Chips) Ahoy -- Lobster and Other Flavored Potato Snacks

The availability of snack food, or processed ones in general, varies throughout Southeast Asia. But one junk food seen almost everywhere is the potato chip (called crisps in much of the world). While they have the standard salt, salt and vinegar and barbecue flavors the ones in SE Asia also feature lots of seafood seasoning such as shrimp, squid, and lobster (shown above).

Other flavors I've seen are chili, seaweed, and rosemary. Friends tell me of one in Thailand with two flavors mixed in one bag -- lobster and cheese.  

Leave a comment below with any exotic chip flavors you may have spotted on your travels.

Fresh Fish Today (and Every Day)

Anywhere a river runs through it, near it or within motorcycle driving distance there is freshwater fish in Southeast Asia.  Often served grilled (sometimes with a salt and or herb crust) trussed in bamboo splints, it was always good.  Usually the fish was wild-caught tilapia, although sometimes in stews or braises it would be wild or farmed catfish.

At many markets, the fish would swim in a pan or tank of water until it was chosen for someone's lunch or dinner. Then it would be killed, gutted and filleted as desire by the fishmonger, usually a woman sitting on the ground or a low stool with a round wooden butcher block in front of her.  

This fish awaits a hungry customer in Luang Probang, Laos.

A Different Bowl of Soup in Vang Vieng, Laos

As regular readers of this blog and my Facebook feed know, we eat a lot of soup.  This one was different than any other we had in Laos.  For under $2 (15,000 kip), Gary got a big bowl of noodles laced with a slightly spicy red curry sauce, chicken and coconut milk.  The menu at the restaurant called it Lao Noodle Soup.  The restaurant had no sign out front, so if you are in Laos and want a bracing bowlful, it is right across from Wonderful Tours (which we also recommend) in Vang Vieng, a town once known for "happy shakes" that has been cleaned up and made a center for slightly adventurous tourism and natural beauty.  Plus it had some of the best inner tubing I've ever done.

Rice is Nice

Rice is a foundation ingredient throughout Southeast Asia. Here is a small store selling different kinds and grades of rice and rice steaming baskets used for making sticky rice. The baskets are made from bamboo which gives the rice a subtle flavor. In the background are some of the small baskets with lids used for serving sticky rice in Cambodia and Laos. This market was in Vientiene, Laos, on a street filled with rice, spice and housewares merchants.