Jeow Ba Dek - Lao National Dipping Sauce

For every Lao and Thai traditional meal, there must be a dipping sauce, also known as 'jeow'. This jeow ba dek is the most traditional and that is why I call it the Lao National Dipping Sauce.

Other versions of this traditional Thai and Lao dipping sauce:
For 'jeow ga be' use shrimp paste instead of salted gourami fish
For 'jeow ga boo' use crab paste instead of salted gourami fish
For 'jeow bee' add 1 tablespoon of gall bladder and mix with any dipping sauces to give the sauce a bitter flavour

Jeow Ba Dek
½ teaspoon chopped lemongrass
½ teaspoon chopped galangal
½ teaspoon chopped garlic
1 chopped kaffer lime leaf
2 tablespoons chopped or minced salted gourami fish (ba dek)
1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
3 tablespoons lime juice

In a Thai / Lao Mortar & Pestle Set pound lemongrass, galangal, garlic, and lime leaf until smooth. Add minced salted gourami fish and squeezed lime. Mix and serve with sticky rice and jasmine rice

Quail Stir Fry in Thick Fish Sauce

I am coming up to my one year anniversary of posting Thai and Lao food recipes. After March 9, 2007 I am going to take a break from my hard work.

This stir fry is called "aw". The sauce is thicken with soaked sticky rice and then grounded. Dill is the preferred herb but you can use cilantro. You must have either Asian eggplants (as seen in Eggplant Chili Sauce) or long beans. You can use any chopped meat.

During my childhood tomboy stage, my brother and I would climb the cherry tree and shoot birds. My aim wasn't good but his was. Then he would cook this dish for me.

Stir Fry Recipe: Aw Quail
3 quails chopped to bite size pieces
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup chopped dill
½ cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons sticky rice
2 cups chopped long beans or Asian eggplants (as seen in Eggplant Chili Sauce)
½ cup chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon salt
3 kaffir lime leaves
3 pieces chopped ginger
2 pieces lemongrass
4 chilies

Soak sticky rice in cold water for 1 hour. Drain water from rice and add to mortar with chilies. Pound until smooth. In a wok over high heat crisp garlic with oil. Add quail until almost cooked. Add salt, green beans, tomatoes and stir fry for 5 minutes. Add water, lime leaf, ginger, lemongrass, and ground sticky rice. Cook 10 minutes and stir occassionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom. Add dill, green onions, and fish sauce. Stir fry 2 minutes. Remove lemongrass and lime leaves before serving.

Serve aw quail with sticky rice or jasmine rice and the eggplant chili dipping sauce

Curry Peanut Dipping Sauce

Here is my personal recipe for the curry peanut dipping sauce. I made it up using common Thai and Lao ingredients. Please note that the paprika is a common ingredient in the Khao Bune fish curry broth to give the broth a radiant red colour.

Vegetarian Recipe: Curry Peanut Dipping Sauce
1 tablespoon oil
½ tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallots or onions
1 cup fresh coconut milk
1 kaffir lime leaf
2 sprigs lemongrass
1 tablespoon Thai Lao Curry Paste
¼ cup chopped tomatoes
½ cup ground peanuts
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon chopped chilies (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons squeezed lime juice

In a wok over medium heat, add oil, chopped garlic and shallots. Stir until shallots are soft. Add remaining ingredients and stir fry for about 10 minutes or until the sauce is thick. Remove from heat. Discard the lemongrass and lime leaf. Serve sauce with fresh spring rolls or shrimp chips.

Khao Bune Ba - Festive Fish Curry Noodle Soup

The host of a Lao gathering who calls for a celebration like a birthdays, weddings, new years and Christmas will serve khao bune soup. Khao Bune soup is traditionally made with either fish or pork and I've given you the fish recipe.

If you are serving this soup to Thai or Lao guests they will help themselves so serve the garnish, herbs and sauce in a baffet style. Any left over shredded banana blossoms, shredded red cabbage, Thai basil, and Vermicelli noodle bundles may be rolled into making spring rolls made with rice paper.

For non Thai and Lao guests, I recommend having the individual bowls ready with noodles, garnish and herb. When everyone is at the dinner table, pour the broth into the bowls, add squeezed lime juice and fish sauce. Let the guests mix the soup.

Soup Recipe: Khao Bune Fish Broth
2 lbs grouper or any fresh water white fish like cat fish
2 litres cold water
1 inch galangal
3 kaffir lime leaf
2 inches lemongrass
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons Thai Lao Curry Paste
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh coconut milk

Side Garnish, Herbs, and Sauce:
Vermicelli noodle bundles
Shredded red cabbage
Shredded long beans
Shredded banana blossoms
Bean sprouts
Chopped green onions and cilantro
Thai basil
Lime wedges
Dried chili flakes
Fish sauce

Making Khao Bune broth: In a pot over high heat, add water, fish, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass, and salt. Bring to boil and cook 20 minutes. Remove foam that rises to top. Remove fish from broth and save the broth reduce heat to medium. Once fish cools, remove the bones and skin. Mince the fish meat by using a food processor, mortar pestle, or just a fork.

In a wok over high heat, add oil and garlic. Crisp the garlic before adding chopped tomatoes. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add minced fish and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add Thai Lao Curry Paste and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add fresh coconut milk and stir fry for 2 minutes.

Add fish coconut curry into reserved fish broth. Bring the heat to maximum when ready to pour red curry fish broth to khao bune noodle serving bowls.

Making Khao Bune soup individual bowls: In a large serving bowl, add 2 vermicelli noodle bundles. Add small handfuls of garnish and herbs. Boil khao bune broth and ladle about 2 cups into bowl or until it just covers the noodles. Add 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon squeezed lime juice, and 1 teaspoon dried chilies. Mix and enjoy.

Fish stuffed with Thai & Lao herbs

The recipe describes how fish stuffed in Thai and Lao herbs can be baked, steamed in banana leaves or grilled over a barbecue. Although Thai and Lao people would steam or grill the fish, in my video, I baked a red snapper fish.

Barbecue Recipe: Fish stuffed with Thai & Lao herbs1 tablespoon chopped lime kaffir leaf
1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass
1 tablespoon chopped galanga
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons squeezed lime
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 red snapper or any white flesh fish
Sprinkle of salt

In a small bowl mix, Thai and Lao herbs with squeezed lime and fish sauce. Rinse fish under cold water to remove any debris. Cut the sides of fish. Sprinkle salt and rub into fish. Stuff fish with Thai Lao herbs.

To bake, place in the oven in 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, flip and bake for another twenty minutes. To steam, wrap in banana leaves and steam for 40 minutes. To barbeque, place over grill for 40 minutes and flipping fish over a couple of times.

Serve with sticky rice or Thai jasmine rice and the Classic Thai / Lao Hot Sauce .

Lap Chicken

The basic ingredients of the Lap Chicken is the same as Lap Lao Beef. However the method of preparing and cooking chicken is different from beef. You can mince chicken by using a food processor or you can view the video and learn how to mince meat by using a knife.

Salad Recipe: Lap Chicken
2 cups minced chicken meat
1 inch piece of galanga
1 inch piece of lemongrass
1 kaffir lime leaf
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups water
1 chili chopped
1 kaffir lime leaf chopped
1 teaspoon chopped galanga
1 teaspoon chopped lemongrass
3 tablespoons chopped mint
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2-3 tablespoons squeezed lime
2-3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon ground toasted sticky rice
½ cup bean sprouts

In a medium pot add water, salt, galanga, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaf and bring to boil. Place minced chicken into a bowl and add hot water. Leave hot water in bowl for 1 minute and stir to separate chicken chunks, then drain water from the chicken. Repeat process of adding hot water into bowl and draining water out at least 3 times or until chicken is cooked. Lastly drain water using a colander. Let meat cool to room temperature then place into a large bowl. Use a fork to separate any large chunks. Add chopped chilies, kaffir lime leaf, galanga, lemongrass, mint, and green onions. Add squeezed lime and fish sauce. Toss all ingredients together. Add ground toasted sticky rice. Toss all ingredients again. Add bean sprouts and toss lightly so that bean sprouts do not break.

All lap dishes are served traditionally with sticky rice but Thai jasmine rice is also good.

Thai Lao Glass Noodle Shrimp Soup

In Lao, glass noodle is called "sin lon". When purchasing glass noodles make sure the ingredients listed on the package shows only mung bean and water. Glass noodles are often used in salads, soups, and fried spring rolls. Do not use pho noodles or sin khao bune - rice noodles with this recipe.

Soup Recipe: Glass noodles and shrimp
2 bundles glass noodles
4 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
1 piece lemongrass
1 lime kaffir leaf
1 chopped chilies (optional)
4 tomato pieces
8 mushroom pieces
8 shrimps
8 baby bok choy bunches
1 tablespoon oyster, mushroom or bean sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Place 2 bundles of glass noodles in a bowl. Pour warm water to cover the glass noodles. Wait for 15 minuets. Remove the string from the bundle and cut the noodles in half. Divide the glass noodles into 4 separate bowls.

In a pot over high heat, add 4 cups of water. Add salt, lemongrass, kaffir leaf and optional chilies. Once the water boils, add tomatoes, mushrooms, shrimps, baby bok choy, oyster sauce and fish sauce. Stir until the shrimp is cooked which is about 2 minutes. Remove and discard the lemongrass and kaffir leaf from the soup. Pour soup over 4 individual bowls. Make sure each bowl has equal portions of tomatoes, mushrooms, shrimps, and baby bok choy. Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro.

Thai Lao Curry Paste

The Thai Lao Curry paste is often cooked with fresh coconut milk to make a curry dish like:
chicken curry
chicken & shrimp curry skewers
fish curry noodle soup

When purchasing any Thai and Lao curry pastes, make sure the ingredients, that are listed below, are included.

Dipping Sauce Recipe: Thai Lao Curry Paste
1 kaffir lime leaf chopped
1 tablespoon chopped galangal
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass
1 tablespoon chopped red onions
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
1-2 teaspoons chili powder

Place all ingredients in a Thai / Lao Mortar. Using a pestle, pound the ingredients in the mortar until a paste is formed. Store curry paste in the refrigerator or freezer.

Lap Lao Beef

Lap Lao is the national food dish of Laos. It is like a salad dish with meat and Thai Lao herbs tossed together. You can make Lap Chicken, fish, and shrimp. The mint and the Ground Toasted Sticky Rice are the two ingredients that must be in all lap Lao dishes.

Salad Recipe: Lap Lao Beef
1 cup thinly sliced beef that is barbecued to medium rare
¼ cup thinly sliced tripe (optional)
½ teaspoon chopped galangal
1 chili chopped
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 tablespoon chopped mint
1 kaffir lime leaf
½ teaspoon chopped lemongrass
2 -3 tablespoon fish sauce
2 -3 tablespoon squeezed lime
½ teaspoon MSG (optional)
1 tablespoon Ground Toasted Sticky Rice

Serve Lap Lao beef with sticky rice or Khao Chow which is jasmine rice . A lot of chopping is involved but the hard work is worth it. Also watch the Lap Chicken video.