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Nham by Don Vienne Senathit and the Laocook Team
(Serves 5-6)
350ml coconut milk*
60g red curry paste
1 kg cooked white rice
80g grated coconut
15g sugar
Pinch of salt
Corn starch for dusting
3 eggs, beaten
Oil for deep frying
400g chopped Som Moo (Fermented Pork)
100g sliced shallots
Approx 45ml freshly squeezed lime juice
Approx 45ml fish sauce
Chopped coriander (cilantro)
Chopped mint leaves
Dried chillies
Crushed peanuts
- *Coconut milk is normally available in 400ml tin cans, do not shake the can before opening, what you want is the thick creamy part.
Nham is a wonderful dish and brings back memories of snacking next to the Mekong River with a cold beer in hand.
In our version, we have fried the rice twice, which makes the finished dish extra crunchy.
The amount of seasoning used really depends on your personal taste, so use our measurements as a guideline.
Mix the coconut milk in a large bowl with the red curry paste, sugar, salt, and grated coconut.
Add the rice, continuing to mix well, making sure that all the liquid is absorbed into the rice. Form the rice into the size of tennis balls, make sure that you pack them tightly as this will stop them from breaking apart whilst frying.
Dip the rice balls into the beaten eggs then dredge in the corn starch. Deep fry until golden brown.
Carefully crack open the balls and scoop out the rice into a clean bowl. Reserve the crust for frying later.
Add the chopped Som Moo and shallots, season with fish sauce and lime juice to taste (some people add a little sugar.)
Add the coriander (cilantro) and mint leaves then lightly mix.
Return the crusts to the deep fryer and refry until crispy and brown, drain on paper towels.
Deep fry the dried chillies a few seconds, this greatly improves their flavour.
Once cool enough to handle crumble the crust on to the rice mixture (we save a little to serve on the side, which everyone loves), add the peanuts then lightly toss, garnish with the dried chillies and enjoy immediately with some crispy lettuce or betel leaves, and of course, a cold beer.
Laotian born Chef Don Vienne Senathit and the Laocook Team are based at the award winning 5 Star Luxury resort “Fairplay Golf Hotel & SPA” in Southern Spain.
Originally published in Lao Roots Magazine, Spring 2008 issue.
I had a chance to attend a Baci Ceremony on Saturday, and a Baci is used for many special events, but it’s sometimes called Sou Khuane which we often hear in events such as a Lao Traditional Wedding, a homecoming, after a birth of a new born and the Baci is for both the mother and the baby, recovering from an illness, and many more. The one I attended was for a new born.
An important item for this ceremony is the Phakhuane, which is made from fresh banana leaves (can use green decorated color paper to substitute), cut and folded into cone shape, and decorated with fresh flowers, silk flowers, or plastic flowers. Since I was from out of town, I got there the day before, sort of, if you would call 2 am Saturday morning. I had a few hours of sleep, and got up early to help prepare the food. I also helped to decorate the Phakhuane, this one is decorated with fresh flowers, and the Phakhuane is made out of thick green paper to substitute for the traditional banana leaves. Around the base of the Phakhuane is the food for Khuane (Spirit), there are hard-boiled eggs that symbol the fetus, fruits, sweets and rice, a bottle of whisky for purification, and boiled whole chicken with head and feet intact for divination.
The Baci ceremony begins with Mor Phon, a person that performs Sou Khuane ceremony, he would take the white thread that’s connecting the Phakhuane, and give one end to the mother and the other to the father of the child, the baby is present at the Baci ceremony, the couple whilst holding the white thread in the palm of their hands in a Wai position, which is the upside down Y shape.
Mor Phon then closes his eyes and begins the ceremony of Sou Khuane by citing chant verses, very poetic in nature, this ceremony was about 30 minutes long, and at the closing of the ceremony, the crown of families and friends join in and say, “Khuane Aeh Ma Deh”, meaning “please come, spirit come.”
Mor Phon then does the honor of tying the white blessing stings on the baby’s wrists, then the parents’ wrists called Phook Ken, after he finishes, then everyone joins in to tie the baby and the couple’s wrists, and whilst doing so, they would also give blessing. I saw several people that roll up money and tie it on the white string, to give as a gift. The symbolic of sting tying is for good luck and a blessing, then friends and families tie strings for one another for good luck.
The best part is the food, as Laotians know how to wine and dine their guests.
Bean sprouts are commonly seen as a garnish for Pho in Vietnamese, Lao and Thai dishes. It is called thua-ngok in Lao or Thai language. Have you ever wonder what types of beans they sprout from, when I was little, my mom grew her own bean sprouts, which took about 5 days, and they were ready to eat. I recalled my mom used the tiny green beans, she called it thua-khew and it is actually called mung bean in English, and this is the type of beans that bean sprouts are sprout from.
The Chinese have been growing mung bean sprouts for approximately 3,000 years but the westerners didn’t start to eat it until the 70s when people are more health conscious, bean sprouts are now considered health food.
Bean sprouts are highly nutritious food, they are high in protein, vitamin C, and Folacin, and they are a dieter’s dream. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they are low in salicylate (Aspirin is acetyl salicylic acid), a naturally occurring chemical in plants that some individuals have difficulty tolerating. The bean sprouts are free of cholesterol, and are ideal for anyone counting calories. One cup of mung bean sprouts contains only approximately 30 calories, 3 grams of protein, only 6 carbohydrates, and only .2 grams of fat, bean sprouts also contain a high source of fiber, are easily digestible, and contain a high concentration of enzymes facilitating the digestive process. In Chinese medicine, bean sprouts are considered to be a yin or cooling food.
Photos by Jan Shim at shimworld.wordpress.com
I like bean sprouts because they are very sweet and crunchy, I like to put it in my Summer Rolls, Pho (photos above, one of the best looking Phos I’ve seen) and sometimes stir fries (but stir frying bean sprouts releases a protein that isn’t available when they are eaten raw) and to maintain their crisp texture, they shouldn’t be stir-fried for longer than about thirty seconds.
I recalled the way my mom grew her own bean sprouts was by washing mung beans and draining, then she soaked them overnight in water. She drained the soaked beans, and placed them in a large glass jar and covered with water. She then placed a piece of cloth over the jar, using a rubber band to hold it in place, and changed the water once a day. After several days, the sprouts were plump and long, she then rinsed them and they were ready to eat. I don’t grow my own because they are available in any Asian grocery store or supermarket.
- NOK-KRA-DAD (Paper Crane) by Dan
I recalled that I used to like carrot cake, while I was working part time in NYC, I was the one to go get birthday cakes, often times I would come back with carrot cakes. I think it got kind of old after a while, as most people don’t like carrot cake. I can’t say that carrot cake is my favorite desert, and if I have a choice, Brownies would be my number one choice.
We had a bake sale today at work; there were many kinds of deserts, and Brownies was one of them. You could imagine which one I bought, and it was very good, the person who made the Brownies told me that she would make me a whole pan since I like it that much, also as a reward for making spring rolls for the bake sale, I think she was just brownoising since I have over 280 spring rolls to make for next week bake sale.
Then I received an email from one of my co-workers, it was a chain letter that I often delete without even reading, but this one was related to the deserts at the company bake sale. I thought it was somewhat interesting, as for my choice of Brownies, I think it described me well. I’m interested in knowing if you think this has some truth in it, or just something that should have made its way to my junk mail box.
Letter read:
Now don’t cheat on this one, go with the first dessert you choose!
If all of the desserts listed below were sitting in front of you, which would you choose (sorry, you can only pick one!) Trust me…this is very accurate. Pick your dessert, and then look to see what psychiatrists think about you.
Here are your choices:
- Angel Food Cake
- Brownies
- Lemon Meringue
- Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Icing
- Strawberry Short Cake
- Chocolate on Chocolate
- Ice Cream
- Carrot Cake
No, you can’t change your mind once you scroll down, so think carefully what your choice will be…
OK - Now that you’ve made your choice this is what the research says about you…
I’ve been eating rice as long as I’d remember, and when we’re at the camp in Thailand, prior to coming to the US, different people told us that we’d have to get used to eating bread because we wouldn’t have any rice in the US. At that time, we didn’t know what to expect, but once we’re here, thank goodness that there’s plenty of rice, even better grade and quality than the one that we’re used to eating in Laos or Thailand.
Why eating rice? For one thing, it is very nutritious. I love eating Kao Hom Mali Rice, which has been variously labeled as “fragrant rice”, “jasmine rice”, “aromatic rice” or “scented rice”. This variety of rice can only be grown in the hot, sunny climates of Southeast Asia. Jasmine rice is a high fiber grain containing vitamins B1, B2, Niacin, Carbohydrate and protein. It is also rich in minerals such as Iron, Calcium, and Phosphorous.
RICE COOKER METHOD
1. Put 1 cup of rice into rice cooker
2. Add 1 - 1 1/2 cups of water
3. Cover the rice cooker and turns it on
4. When it automatically turns off, do not lift the cover immediately. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes
This is a good news amongst cocktail lovers, strawberry and blackberry are a good source of antioxidant, and when place in cocktail, even boost the potency of the fruits even more, below is from The Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture…certainly something to celebrate about if you love to drink cocktail, but like anything else, you have to understand that drinking too much alcohol, even in cocktail form, is bad for your liver, and dangerous to other cells in your body, so drink in moderation.
Strawberries are good for you, but serving them in daiquiri form may make them even healthier, scientists show.
While exploring ways to help keep strawberries fresh during storage, researchers from Thailand and the US discovered that treating the berries with alcohol led to an increase in antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging activity within the fruit. While such a boost helped the berries resist decay, the same compounds would also be expected to make the strawberries healthier to eat.
I once was a big fan of fresh-squeezed juice of fruits and vegetables, when my mom first got sick, we all went out and purchased a juicer, all electrical which works great. Then a friend suggested that it’d be better for me to use the manual kind, which I thought was bit backward, but gave it a try, and it works as good as the electrical one but much cheaper, and the extra work is actually good for exercising because we have the tendency to cut corner in everything that we do which is becoming a habit, not a bad one, but it’s just that we don’t appreciate things as much in my opinion.
Since my mom passed, my sisters and I sort of loose that interest, and we hardly bring out that juicer, I think it might be because it brought back too much hurting memory for us, but I’m beginning to think differently now. I think my mom wouldn’t be happy knowing that we’re not taking care of our health like we should, so it might be time for me to take out that juicer and sits it at the kitchen counter top as a reminder that I’ve to use if everyday.
I started drinking coffee when I was in high school, I never thought that it would be addictive and kept telling people and myself that I can quit anytime, little did I know, I would get a migraine headache if I don’t get my daily dosage. There are many researches out there that have both the pros and cons of drinking coffee, I do read them every now and then, but I don’t think I’ll be quitting anytime soon.
The English word ‘coffee’ is believed to be derived from the name of the place from which coffee originated, Kaffa, Ethiopia. The history of coffee can be traced at least as early as the 9th century, in the highlands of Ethiopia. From there it spread to Egypt and Yemen, and by the fifteenth century had reached Persia, Egypt, Turkey, and northern Africa. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Europe, where it became popular during the seventeenth century. The Dutch were the first to start the large-scale importation of coffee into Europe. (source)
Back in the olden day, coffee was not readily available and it was considered more of a luxury, and would only have to serve to guess, not something that people would have at home for daily consumption like now. When I saw a post on Lao Coffee Capital at Laocuisine.net, I didn’t realize that we also grow coffee crops, and is the number fifth largest export product for Lao P.D.R. The town that Darly was talking about is Paksong, and I have a friend that I grew up with that was from that region. Both her parents are Chinese, they speak Lao with a thick Chinese accent, but I believe she was born in Laos. She left Paksong at such a young age that I don’t know if she would be able to recall anything about the region at all.
I was inspired to write about the topic ‘Foods From Nature’, after seeing all the vegetables and fishes from Darly’s post On The Border Grocery Shopping, at Laocuisine.net. I was born and raised in Champasak region, and I remembered my mom told me that many different types of food can be found in nature, whether it’s mushrooms, bamboo shoots, ant eggs, and various type of eatable flowers that grown in the wild, such as Dork Kaeh, Dork Ka Jewl, and leaves such as Pak Varn (sweet vegetable), or Pak Ka Dao (bitter taste), and the best part about them are that these are free from any type of pesticide, and really FREE because they are grown in the forest.
Most locals knew when these vegetables would come out and where to go to find them. It was funny when my mom said that somehow, your body knew when mushrooms were in season, you would have a craving for them, your mouth would start to salivate just thinking about them. Not to mention other types of wild vegetables and flowers that would take turn to sprout out all year long, there were always something to eat all year round. Then there were plenty in the water also, whether it’s cockles, snails, prawns, sao noi discos (dancing shrimp), frogs, and fishes. On land, there were plenty of eatable insects that were very popular among the locals, which I don’t find them very appetizing.
If you know that you can’t control yourself when it comes to junk food, whether it’s chocolate or cookies, and not to mention foods with high calories, then there might be a way to satisfy your craving. This is an article at Kwanruen online, Vol. 845, February 1, 2007, written in Thai language, suggested that you can control your craving by eating certain types of food at or in between mealtime.
Pine nuts, research indicates that it helps control a hormone called cholecystokinin, which is a peptide hormone of the gastrointestinal system responsible for stimulating the digestion of fat and protein, which by eating pine nuts, it will help control your appetite or reduce your craving. It is best to eat this with your salad, or if you cannot find pine nuts, then you can substitute it with almond. The plus side of almond is that it will help prevent our body from taking in fat content, therefore helps with weight loss.
Hot food, such as soup or hot tea, the hot temperature of these foods will help reduce our food intake or craving. It is best to drink hot soup or hot tea before your main course, but make sure that the type of soup that you are drinking are not thick and creamy, and your tea does not have too much sugar or syrup. It is best to drink green tea, and there are researches indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol. Green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.
Apple is a good fruit to snack in between meal because it has fiber, more so than any other types of fruit such as grapes, or oranges. Therefore, it is best to eat apple before your evening meal, this will prevent you from over eating. It is always a good idea to have apple handy if you don’t want to be hungry all the time.
This is from kwanruen online, vol. 844, January 2, 2007, in Beauty by Avon, want to share secrete of how to acquire a beautiful skin, since our skin is considered the biggest organ of our body that can eliminate waste, we should take good care of it. Did you know that certain types of food can prevent our body from eliminating these waste and does the reverse. It can damage our skin in the end; therefore, it is very important that we eat the right types of food.
It’s not difficult to pick out healthy food but everyone is different. We can see that everybody have different skin types. Choosing the right foods for your skin type are very important and can be complicated. The foods that you eat will eventually show on your outer appearance, pretty much you are what you eat. It is important to try to avoid foods that are high in fat content, sugar, and alcohol, which are not good for your skin at all. If you know your skin type, then it would also be good to know the types of food that will be beneficial for your skin type.
If you have dry skin, you should eat more fishes, such as salmon, which is high in omega 3 and 6. Any types of nuts with hard shells are also another good source that will help with your dry skin. The types of food that you should try to avoid are fast food, frozen food or TV dinner type of food, french-fried, biscuit, sugar, and coconut.
If you have oily skin, you should try to eat more fruits and vegetables such as pineapple, papaya, avocado, peanuts. The types of food that you should try to avoid are the kind that will clog your skin such as butter, dairy product, red meat, and any types of fried food. These foods will increase the production of oil in your body and will make your skin oilier.
If you have sensitive skin, you should try to increase intake of vitamin A and C, which you can find these in carrot, mango, and kiwi. You should also try to eat more meat product, nuts with hard shells. The types of food that you should try to avoid are spicy foods, and any types of food that give you rashes, for some people it might be MSG. Another types of food that many Asian people are allergic to are dairy products.
If you have combination skin, you should try to eat more fruits, vegetables, and foods that are high in omega 3 such as fishes. You should try to avoid food with high fat content.
What types of skin do you have? It’s very important to try to eat according to your skin type and last but not least, don’t forget to use lotion to moisturize your skin. Beautiful skin starts from inside out.
Photo by Huntz, Chili Pepper Madness
How important is it for us to eat spicy food? Most Thai and Lao dishes are very spicy, if we don’t eat chili pepper or fish sauce, there seems to be something missing. Personally, I like to eat spicy food, the spicier the better. My mom also uses the leaves of the chili pepper as vegetable and put it into her dish, such as ‘oum kai’. Some of this interesting information about chili pepper below is from Kullastree Magazine by Phetrut Houphanyakit written in Thai language, translated by Nye.
Chili pepper is packed with all the vitamins and minerals, such as protein, calcium, zinc, beta-carotene, vitamin A, B1, B2, and C. 1 small chili pepper has more vitamin C than 1 lemon or orange. It also contains vitamin A, as much as 50% of the daily recommend dosage.
There are a few Thai Restaurant in my area but most are own and operate by Lao people. I’ve noticed that most Americans are more familiar with Thai/Lao food especially Pad Thai, Tom Yum Goung, and Som Tum. This article is very interesting in the sense that it brings Som Tum to the next level. The original author for this article is Lam Yaka, and don’t mind me if I help him write, instead of just translating, to make it up to our standard, I’ll take it up another notch since I’m Laotian. The original article is in Koosang Koosom Magazine, written in Thai Language.
Som Tum (papaya salad) is something very popular among Thai and Lao people. People of all ages, genders, and different regions of the country or world can enjoy eating Som Tum. I’m not sure who came up with Som Tum, all I know is that it’s the main menu for Issan and Lao people that goes back to many, many centuries ago. What taste good is Som Tum with PaDak (fermented fish). Good PaDak is made of Pa Ga Dee (small fishes), and it has to have a very strong PaDak aroma for it to be good, EEWW. After that you have to dress it up before putting it into your Som Tum, some people like to boil their PaDak first, mix with sugar, brown rice (kao kau), and some would put small black crabs (pou na) which will give it a good flavor.
Issan people would eat Som Tum as their main meal because it’s something cheap and readily available in that region of the country. The most important thing is that it doesn’t have any fat content, therefore wouldn’t have to worry about gaining weight. By eating Som Tum, you will look slender, have nice skin complexion from the vitamins that you get from the vegetables. The most important thing is that it’s delicious and you can eat it all year round.
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