Laos

 Welcome to Laos!  We may never get to Azerbaijan...we keep taking some detours!  Oh well...travel plans rarely go as planned, right?  Like all Southeast Asian countries, this one looks beautiful too.  Another one I would love to visit.  (I think I say that about most countries...)  According to Google, the population of Laos is 7.12 million people and  the capital is Vientiane.  Their national dish is...

 

Laap/Larb!

It doesn't sound great...it sounds like you're eating a bunch of fat (lard).  I can assure you, this is NOT the case.  It's actually fantastic.  It's very similar to Pork Egg Roll in a Bowl that we make often, but there is more depth to the flavors.  Along with the Larb, we made Khao Piak Sen, which is the Lao-style chicken noodle soup, and a Pumpkin Coconut Custard for dessert.  I started making this meal the day before, and I'm glad I did!  Here's what I did:

LAAP/LARB

1 tbsp uncooked rice 

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 lb ground pork

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

Juice of 1 lime

1 red chili, sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 green onions, chopped

1/4 C cilantro, chopped

1/2 C mint, chopped 

1. In a dry wok, toast the rice grains until golden and fragrant on low heat (took about 10 minutes).
2. Grind the rice into a coarse powder, and set aside.
3. Put the wok on high heat until smoking.
4. Add the oil and ground pork, and stir-fry the pork until it is browned.
5. Add the toasted rice powder, sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice.
6. Stir fry for another minute or two, then add the chili, shallots, onion, green onion, cilantro, and mint.
7. Stir fry for another minute or two, and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
8. Serve plain, or on top of lettuce leaves like a lettuce wrap.

(Source: Larb) 

KHAO PIAK SEN

For the Fried Garlic and Shallots

1 C vegetable oil

24 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (I used a mandoline)

3 shallots, thinly sliced (I used a mandoline)

For the Broth and Chicken

1 onion, peeled and quartered

3 large knobs of ginger, peeled, sliced in 1/4 inch thick rounds

Oil from frying garlic and shallots

1 stalk lemongrass, peeled and roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Stems from 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

Whole chicken

2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

For the Noodles

7 oz plus 1 oz white rice flour, divided

7 oz plus 1 oz tapioca flour, divided

1 3/4 C boiling water

To finish and serve the soup

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 birds-eye chilies, minced

Lime wedges

Fried garlic (from above)

Fried shallots (from above)

Cilantro leaves, chopped

 

For the Fried Garlic and Shallots

1. Heat the oil in a pot until shimmering.
2. Add the garlic, and fry, stirring frequently, until golden brown all over.
3. Use a slotted spoon and scoop out the garlic and let drain on paper towels.
4. Add the shallots, and let cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes, while stirring frequently.
5. Remove the shallots from the pan and let drain on a separate paper towel.
6. Save the oil!
   

For the Broth and Chicken

1. Char, without oil, two of the onion quarters and 2/3 of the ginger.
2. Roughly chop all the onion and ginger, whether charred or not.
3. In a large pot, heat the garlic-shallot oil over medium heat until shimmering.
4. Add the chopped onion and ginger, lemongrass, sliced garlic, and cilantro stems.
5. Season with salt, and cook, stirring often, for about 7 minutes.
6. Add the whole chicken to the pot and ad enough cold water to cover the chicken.
7. Add the 2 tbsp of salt, fish sauce, and sugar.
8. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to maintain the simmer.
9. Cook, covered, for 2 hours.
10. After 2 hours, remove the chicken from the pot to a bowl or plate.
11. When the chicken is cool enough, de-bone the chicken and shred the chicken meat.
12. Bring the broth to a rolling boil, and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
13. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
14. Return the broth to a clean pot and add salt to taste.

For the Noodles

1. While the broth simmers, make the noodles.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add 7 oz of white rice flour and 7 oz tapioca flour.
3. Turn the mixer on medium-low speed and drizzle the boiling water.
4. Continue to mix until a moist ball forms, about 3 minutes.
5. Whisk together the remaining rice and tapioca flours and sprinkle on work surface.
6. Turn the dough ball out on the work surface and knead by hand until all the flour has been fully incorporated.
7. Roll the dough into a thick log and divide into equal portions.
8. Flatten each portion into a flat disc, and roll out to 1/8 inch thick.
9. Use a sharp knife and slice the noodles 1/4-1/2 inches wide.
10. Transfer the noodles to a baking sheet, and cover with a damp towel.  Repeat with remaining discs.

To Finish and Serve the Soup

1. Add the noodles to boiling broth and cook, stirring minimally, until the noodles float to the surface. 
2. Transfer the noodles to soup bowls.
3. Add the shredded chicken to each bowl, and ladle broth into the bowls.
4. Serve hot, and  garnish with what you choose!

(Source: Khao Piak Sen)

PUMPKIN COCONUT CUSTARD

1 small Japanese pumpkin

4 eggs

1 C coconut cream

1/2 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

2 C hot water

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Cut the pumpkin top off (like you were carving a Halloween pumpkin) and remove seeds.
3. Place the hollow pumpkin in a dutch oven.
4. In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt.
5. Mix until everything is mixed together, then add the coconut cream.
6. Whisk until everything is very well combined.
7. Pour the custard mixture into the pumpkin.
8. Add hot water to the Dutch oven (this will steam the pumpkin as it bakes).
9. Place the pumpkin lid back on the pumpkin and then the lid on the dutch oven, and place in the oven. (If the pumpkin lid doesn't fit with the lid of the dutch oven, you can leave the pumpkin lid off - this is what I did).
10. Cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.
11. Use a clean knife, and pierce the middle of the custard.  If it comes out clean, the custard is done.
12. Remove from the oven and let cool to room-temperature before slicing and serving.

(Source: Pumpkin Coconut Custard)

 

The verdict?  We really did enjoy the larb!  We had guests who also said that it was delicious.  There was a depth of flavor that I hadn't had before, and it was very good.  It was also a very quick meal to make, so I can foresee this meal becoming a staple!  I wasn't very impressed by the soup, but everyone else said it was wonderful.  (I still like the Taiwanese soup from a few weeks ago better...)  If I were to make this again, I would use store-bought rice noodles or not use noodles and add veggies instead.  The noodles were very tricky, and took a long time to do.  I didn't care for them.  I think the soup needed much more salt than was called for. The soup also called for Keifer Lime leaves, which I couldn't find, so maybe that would have helped too.  I made the broth and chicken the day before, which helped a lot with time.  I did not care for the pumpkin custard.  It was too bland for me.  I also needed to get a smaller pumpkin, as the custard didn't come up to the top as it was supposed to.  It had to cook longer than the recipe said, but it finally did set.  It just didn't have much flavor.  I also forgot to take a picture of it...

 

 

ME

Taste of Larb (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 1

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Larb (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 8.5

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 1

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor):9

 

ME

Taste of Khao Piak Sen (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 2

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Khao Piak Sen (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable):1 (Unless you got a bite with a birds-eye chili, they make it a 7!)

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor):5

 

ME

Taste of Pumpkin Coconut Custard (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 3

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 2

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Pumpkin Coconut Custard (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 4

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 2

 

There you have it!  Another country down.  Maybe this time we'll make it to Azerbaijan...Time will tell!