Sharing a border with culinary powerhouses like Thailand, Vietnam and China, it’s easy to see why food in Laos has been overlooked. In truth, having so many culinary influences so close by, Laos’ food scene is extraordinary. Here are 7 things you must eat in Laos — though there are plenty more.
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If you’ve been to any of Laos’ bordering neighbours of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and China, or if you know anything about them, you’ll find things eerily familiar when you’re in Laos; familiar, but not the same.
This feeling of cultural de ja vu is never stronger than in Laos’ food scene.
As we walk through the night markets of Luang Prabang or stop in at little local cafes in Vang Vieng, there are dishes we recognise, but that maybe have different English spellings or a twist on ingredients.
At first it’s unsettling.
We wonder if these are just a Lao interpretation of a Viet soup or a Thai curry, but it eventually dawns on us that perhaps this is the original dish and that it’s these other countries who have adapted it with their own take.
Or maybe its one of those moments when two things can be true at once.
Either way, there are many dishes in Laos that you have to try. Here are seven of our favourites.
For more of our stories and videos on Laos, click here!
We travelled through Laos with Inside Asia Tours. You can see the itinerary we took (and book it!) here.
Here are the hotels we stayed in while we were travelling through Laos if you’re looking for somewhere lovely yet local to stay.
7 Dishes To Eat In Laos
1. Duck Laab (spicy ‘meat salad’)
Made with spicy mince, lime juice, toasted ground rice, mint and chilli, laab is a common enough dish on the tables of Thailand. However, Thais usually make theirs with chicken.
The original Lao dish, which is where laab comes from btw, is made with duck.
The extra fat and flavour from the duck meat makes this richer and more satisfying — though I’ll take laab however it comes!
2. Kanom Krok (coconut pancakes)
We first fell in love with this sweet street-food snack in a food court in Bangkok, and every time we’re in Thailand we hunt it out. Crispy on the outside, and creamy and sweet in the middle, kanom krok are delicious.
So when we discovered there’s a version of kanom krok in Laos, we were stoked.
Often, vendors will put two together creating a ball. Don’t be put off by the eyeball aesthetic; these things are the best. Literally translated as ‘sweet hotplate’, these half-spherical treats are essentially tiny coconut cream pancakes made in a special griddle.
Thais tend to add different toppings like crispy onion, sweetcorn or taro, whereas Laotians often leave their kanom krok plain. Having said that, we have found both in both countries.
3. Ua Si Khai (lemongrass chicken)
Quite an unusual dish, Ua Si Khai translates as ‘lemongrass stuffed chicken’ and is traditional Lao cuisine.
Basically, it’s spiced chicken mince that’s stuffed into a split lemongrass stalk and grilled. The fusion of lemongrass into the mince is delicious, though it can be frustrating to eat as extracting the chicken is a bit tricky. Worth the effort though.
This dish can also be made with minced pork, though chicken is more traditional and is the ‘khai’ part of the dish’s name.
4. Lao Khao Soi (pork noodle soup)
Khao Soi is popular in northern Thailand, and there’s a similar version in Vietnam (we’ve heard it called ‘spaghetti pho’, which I think is quite funny), but the Lao Khao Soi — khao soi from Laos — is our favourite.
This hearty, spicy street food is basically a noodle soup with a rich base of chicken stock and bolognese-style tomato and pork. The noodles are usually fat rice noodles that really grip the soup well.
We first experienced Lao Khao Soi in the night market in Luang Prabang. We went back to the same stall every night we were there — even if we’d already had dinner!
5. Aw Lam (royal eggplant stew)
Sadly, we only found this dish in one little cafe in Vang Vieng, but Aw Lam is famous in Laos for being a royal dish in Luang Prabang when it was the ancient capital.
This stew has a rich peppery stock base, but instead of ground meat, this one uses minced eggplant to add texture and body. Traditionally, sliced beef or chicken is added to the top, but in this case, the cafe uses pork, along with snake beans and steamed greens.
You eat this stew with sticky rice and try to resist the temptation of ordering a second bowl when you’ve finished.
6. Sticky Rice
We couldn’t write about Lao food without mentioning sticky rice. As much as laab is Laos’ national dish, so sticky rice is the number one staple. In fact, it’s an addiction for most Lao people.
The way to eat sticky rice is to pull a chunk off with your fingers and squeeze it into shape. You can use it to dip in sauces or fashion a spoon with it to scoop up food.
Sticky rice adds so much texture and sweetness to a main dish, but is so important to Laotian way of life, it is its own entity as well.
7. Kaipen (crispy river weed)
One of our favourite snacks in Laos — especially in Luang Prabang — is kaipen. It looks like Japanese nori seaweed at first, but this is in fact dried river weed.
The process for making this snack is quite laborious, but after pounding and washing it for hours, then boiling it in stock and squashing it, and then drying it for several more hours, this deep green crispy morsel is covered in toasted sesame seeds.
It’s one of the most satisfying beer snacks we’ve discovered since we came across taralli in Puglia.
