Spicy Laos

Today I took a Lao cooking class. I know, I know, I don't do too much actual cooking these days, but I like to do it and I thought this would be a fun way to spend the day! I was right.

After a short trip to the market to learn how to choose foods, we were whisked away to the cooking school which was out of town in a beautiful location. Lao cooking is strong on the fresh herbs and sticky rice.

Our instructor starts by asking if we like spicy foods. The four of us say yes. He then says " American spicy or Lao spivey?". Let's just say that these people love there chilis. All those little peppers that make your eyes water. My sauce had four of these peppers in it. And that was just the start.

In Laos, sticky rice is balled up and eaten by hand, so we were making a sauce to dip it in. I choose a tomato based sauce ( vs the eggplant). Good choice for me. It ended p being a spicy salsa type sauce that we ate with the rice.

We cooked three types of meat. Fish (steamed in a banana leaf), chicken stuffed in lemongrass, and the some buffalo ( which was like a Lao meatloaf). Each dish was highly seasoned with fresh garlic, shallots, lemongrass, dill, coriander, scallions, and a whole bunch of other leafy type herbs. The Lao people apparently like their salt too! It was perfect for me.

We prepped and chopped and mashed and ground things up all morning. Apparently the best way to do this was in a heavy duty mortar and pestle. Mixed in the meat and the sat down to feast. And it was spicy. But some of the best food I have had in a long while. And did I mention spicy? Apparently, Lao cooking isn't for the faint of heart, weak of stomach, or those who prefer bland food!

Ended the day with a couple of beers watching the best sunset of the trip over the Mekong river. No way I can't love my life right now!