Must Try Laotian Dishes

Laotian cuisine is unique with regional flavours and dishes. You will discover different dishes in the north and south of this beautiful country. The flavours in Laos cuisine are typically spicy, citrusy and funky in taste (fish sauce). Lao food is complex in flavour. Here are our top Laos dishes to try when visiting Laos:

Laap

Translates directly to meat salad, Laap is popular all over Laos. Laap is considered the staple dish of Laos. This flavoursome meat based salad is served with lots of herbs, chilli, lime juice and fish sauce. Pork or chicken are most commonly used but you can find laap served with fish, beef or duck.

Khao Poon

This is a spicy noodle soup consisting of vermicelli noodles in a spicy broth topped with meat, fish sauce, chillies and herbs. It is the perfect comfort food. Khao poon is one of our favourite Laos dishes and we highly recommend trying it!

Sai Gok (Lao Sausage)

Lao sausage is commonly served as an appetiser with sticky rice. The sausage is made from pork meat and lemongrass, galangal, kaffir leaves, shallots, chilli, and fish sauce. Lao sausages are full of flavour and very unique in taste. You cannot visit Laos and not try sai gok.

Kaeng Jute

Kaeng jute translates to plain soup and is the perfect dish if you are looking for something that is not spicy. The broth is meat based, glass noodles are added and the soup is seasoned with lemongrass, garlic and herbs. It is a very refreshing and tasty meal.

Tam Lao

Tam lao is a delicious papaya and seafood salad. The salad consists of spiced papaya served with black crab, dried prawns and fish sauce. Lime juice is also added to the salad to balance the flavours.

Khaopiak Khao

Khaopiak khao is a wet rice soup. White rice is served in a meat based broth and seasoned with fresh herbs and lime. The texture of this dish is unusual and we have to admit it wasn’t our favourite.

Ping Gai (Grilled Chicken)

A popular street food dish in Lao, Ping Gai can be found on almost any street corner. Whole chicken is grilled between bamboo skewers. Ping Gai is usually served with rice.

Khao Jee

This is a baguette similar to the Vietnamese Banh Mi. There are many street food vendors selling this delicious lunch time snack. The baguette is commonly filled with lettuce, onion, tomato, pork, ham, pate and topped with chilli sauce.

If you are only visiting Laos for a few days you may not have time to try all of our suggestions. Local food tours are a great opportunity to sample lots of local dishes in a short period of time.

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