Laotian food was never on my radar, not until I travelled to this part of the world. Prior to coming to Thailand, I had no knowledge of any Laotian cuisine and never have tried it; Let alone, hearing some of it. But when I was in Thailand, I started hearing a little bit more about Laos. What first comes to mind is that Laotian food sounded quite exotic. It was those cuisines that are filled with mysteries and wanting to be discovered.

By then, I was used to eating sticky rice and various creamy and rich flavours of Thai food but apparently, despite being a close neighbour, Laotian food is simply unique on its own. So, leave the creamy and coconut flavour back in Thailand and get ready for another full flavour adventure!

When I first arrived in Vientiane, I was quite taken aback of the street food local scene. This market that I visited was quite humble with a strong smoky aroma surrounding the area that was actually inviting. Each seller presented something meaty on skewers and some freshwater fish on top of a banana leaves. It was quite a scene especially when I first arrived, I was comparing everything to Thailand. Now after quite a while, I appreciate the local ways of selling their food and I found more appreciation for their cuisine.

One thing that you have to know is that some parts of Vientiane are more lively during the afternoon. There are some morning markets such as Talad Sao but if you’re looking for a galore of food, the afternoon past 5 PM is where the city gets even more lively. There are a few night markets in the centre of Vientiane such as in Hanoi road, Ban Anou, and the biggest is the night market along the Mekong river.

In this post, I will present some of the local food scene from a night market called Ban Anou which is located in Phai Nam Rd. This market starts as early as 3 PM but gets even more lively with more options as it gets to 6 PM. Majority of the buyers here are locals who either walk or buy things without even getting off their motorbike. This is a must-see and must-visit market in Vientiane if you want to peek into what locals eat and how their taste buds are.

Now, Let’s dive into it!

When I first arrived at this market, one thing that I was afraid of was getting the same problem I had in Thailand when it comes to the food. However, I did not have any of that and I was extremely happy that I could eat the street food in Laos just fine.

In this market, the sellers are mostly women with a few men working as the cook or simply handling the money. Some of the sellers also speak English which was a great benefit to have but because of some of the ladies there, I eventually learned laotian and now is able to order food, pay for food, and basic phrases in laotian.

Assorted Grilled Meats and Fish

From duck, chicken, to freshwater fish, you can find assorted grilled meat that are pierced on bamboo skewers and put on banana leaves. One of the things that are also commonly found is the heart of chicken and chicken butt. If you buy one of those, it will come to you wrapped in banana leaves which will make the aroma even more inviting and inducing your appetite to savour them.

I personally had a funny experience with these meats. When I was asking the seller about a stick of skewers I was interested in, she mentioned that it was chicken in skewers. Thinking that it was chicken meat, I bought one only later to find that it was pieces of chicken butt as I peeled its skin and discovered what was beneath all that crispy grilled skin.

Khao Niew

Khao niew or sticky rice is the staple dish in Laos. In fact, if you say rice what you get is khao niew instead of jasmine rice which exists but is a little bit rare.

“ Khoi Yak Khao Niew” (I want sticky rice). That’s what I would say when I ordered them and they would reply, “Ha pan” (5000) and the lady would put a block of sticky rice inside a plastic bag which was enough to feed more than 2 or even 3 people.

Another thing I learned about Khao Niew is that they eat it with their hands instead of using a spoon which I found made more sense as again, it’s sticky. I tried eating it with a spoon but eating with my right hand worked better.

Jaew

Think of Jaew as salsa or sambal. There are different types of Jaew but my favourite has been the tomato Jaew which is spicy and reminds me of Sambal Tomat. Jaew is best to eat with sticky rice and the grilled meats/fish of your choice.

Muu

One of the must have laotian foods to try is their pork jerky. They are such a good scrumptious snack but also can be paired with sticky rice. Muu in the local language means pork. Any food with Muu just indicates that they are made of pork. I learned about this when I was asking what type of meat and the seller was just saying “muu” and “pig” later on.

Khao Jee

It’s such an interesting name that the jee is pronounced like “chii”. Khao Jee is basically a sticky rice coated with egg in a skewer. I first thought it was strange as I bought it but forgot to eat until I woke up in the middle of the night starving and was surprised with the taste of Khao Jee.

It has a slight smokey flavour as it's grilled for a few seconds but the taste was savoury. Most importantly, it was filling. It’s also a cheap snack to eat as one costs 3000 kip which is about 17 cents. It is definitely a must-try snack but I have to warn you that it might not be your cup of tea.

Yaw Juen

“ sep lai” (very delicious) as I said this after eating spring rolls which are made of rice paper and filled with some minced pork. It was quite unusual for me that spring rolls were made of rice paper and friends. Where I am from, spring rolls have more dough instead of rice paper. The dipping sauce was also spicy, just the way I liked it to be. There are some sellers that are selling this for 3000 kip and I could eat 6 of them in one go. It’s just simply savoury and again, Sep lai!

Larb

When I was in Thailand I heard about Larb and actually tasted a bit of it. My German friend mentioned that it was from Issan but apparently, they’re just doing it much better in Laos. It is in fact, the national dish of Laos and from Ban Anou market, I got the chance to see how it was made. Larb was basically a mix between minced pork stirred and added lemon juice and their secret fish sauce. As the seller was mixing it, I was simply fascinated to eventually find out where all the flavour comes from. Larb is basically spicy, zesty and savoury. They are also great eaten with khao niew or even jasmine rice.

The exotic cuisine

Can you find something exotic in Laos? Definitely. In Ban Anou, they sell insect larb and also snails which locals call it aw hoy which is basically a snail cooked in stew.

When I first discovered Aw hoy I was so thrilled as it was one of my favourite childhood comfort foods. In Indonesia we call this Kreco and it is cooked in a coconut broth and more soupy than the Laotian version. When I found out about it, I ended up buying a bowl and was extremely happy. These days it is extremely difficult to find kreco but in Laos, which is quite far away from home, I found my childhood comfort food.

All those Laotian foods can be found wherever you go in Vientiane and across the country. What I find intriguing is that my palate loves laotian food more than the rich, creamy flavour of Thai food. There’s also one thing that I notice, in Thai, they use sugar, a lot of it in their cooking but in Laos, they’re more savoury which just simply is my taste bud preference. However if you’re more into sweet and creamy perhaps Thai food will fit you better but for spicy and savoury lovers, Laotian food should be something on your list to try !