Lap

I loved the food in Laos (well North Laos anyway). No single dish better represents the delicious and complex flavors of their cuisine than Lap, which is a meat salad. You can get lap made from pork, chicken, beef, fish, or any other meat they have around. They first mince the meat and mix it with dripping slices of shallots and garlic, mixed with chili and lemongrass, fresh mint and sometimes basil, with a touch of fish sauce. It is a meddly of flavors, spicy, salty, a bit of sweet from the shallots, with a hint of bitter from the herbs, sour from the lime. It is traditionally served raw, but Michelle and I could not find anyone who'd prepare it this way. Tourism has encouraged the cooking of the meat.

It is served wit ha basket of sticky rice, the country's staple grain. Sticky rice is a slightly undercooked strain of rice, that is mostly dry and easily clumps together. Sticky rice has a fantastic chewy texture, that is so satisfying to eat, it is delicious plain.

To not dip it in the lap though is a crime to their national dish. It is eaten with bare hands. One simply breaks a chunk of rice, rolling into a ball, then flattens it slightly to make a makeshift spoon which is used to scoop up the salad. Laos did have other quite tasty dishes; steamed parcels of fish with dill in a banana leaf, lots of Thai style dishes like papaya salad and curries. And dear god, the grilled meat that just melts after dipping it in the ginger, chili, line sauce. Plus, the Frech taught this little nation how to make real, crusty baguettes. Good bread is rare in Asia, but Laos had it everywhere. Laos did not have a wide variety of dishes, but they were all amazing. The food got quite tasteless the closer we got to the flavor-anemic Cambodia, but in the North, with their surplus of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs, it is hard not to be happy. still, it is the lap that I'll always crave; it comprised at least one of my meals each day and I will strive to perfect it when I can home. I hope I can find sticky rice.