Green Papaya Salad, Laos Version/ Salad Pepaya Muda khas Laos

I looove this salade, as much as i love Indonesian asinan (veggies/fruit condiment) or rujak (fruit salad). I prefer the laos version over its neighbours, as i feel it has more 'body'. This is my own version with the ingredients that i could find in my pantry.

Ingredients:

Crab Paste

• 3 cups of frozen green papaya (store bought, you can of course find it fresh, you will just have to slice it yourself using julienne peeler)
• 2 carrots julienne sliced
• 1 tomato, cut in wedges
• Juice of 1 green lemon

Sauce

• 1 tsp Crab Paste (you can use shrimp paste just to replace it)
• 3 tbs tamarind juice 
• 1 tbs palm sugar
• Chilies
• 1 garlic
• Fish Sauce (i only use 1 tsp to add more taste)

Method:

1. Mix the green papaya, carrots, tomatoes and lemon juice
2. Mix and grind the sauce ingredients,
3. Pour the sauce over salad. Mix well.
4. Serve

Bahasa Indonesia
Bahan 1:

• 3 cup pepaya muda diiris julien
• 2 wortel diiris julien
• 1 buah tomat, dibelah 4
• Jus dari 1 buah jeruk nipis

Bahan 2:

• 1 sdt pasta kepiting, atau bisa diganti terasi.
• 3 sdm air asam jawa
• 1 sdm gula palem
• Cabai 
• 1 bawang putih
• Saos ikan (saya hanya menggunakan seperlunya saja untuk rasa)

Cara:

1. Campur bahan 1
2. Campur bahan 2 dan ulek.
3. Campur bahan 2 ke dalam bahan 1 dengan baik.
4. Hidangkan.

Read More

My Own Version of Mi Kha Thi

Mi Kha Thi is Laotian cuisine that reminds me a lot to our laksa. Apparently, in South East Asia, every country has their own version of noodle soaked in curry soup. Inspiration is taken from Laotian recipe book “les meilleures recettes du monde”, Orphie 2006. The original recipe uses pork as meat, and is without turmeric, galanga, ginger and kaffir leaves. I added them for the reason that I thought it would be cool a more colorful curry soup with them inside. The result is maknyus, the beef is so tender and the soup is rich with the taste of the minced beef.

Ingredients:

• 400 gr minced beef
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 200 ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbs or more fish sauce
• 1 tsp galanga
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 tps dried chillies in powder
• 3 shallots chopped
• 2 garlic chopped
• salt
• sugar
• 2 kaffir leaves
• 250 gr Rice noodle (I used thin rice vermicelli, and i used half package of leftover, brown vermicelli, hehe)
• 1 tbs sliced chillies
• omelet thinly sliced

Additional ingredients:

• Sprout beans (which is soaked in hot water for 5 – 10 minutes)
• lemon juice
• spring onions sliced
• mint and coriander leaves (i did not add these ingredients).
  

Directions:

1. Prepare the rice noodles, soak in cold water, and then boil al dente, drain it. Drop a little bit of oil just to keep it separated from each other.
2. In a big pan, stir fry the garlic, shallots, salt, chilly powder; turmeric, galanga and ginger. Add the meat, mingle it evenly.
3. Add the liquid ingredients, kaffir leaves and sugar. Let it cook for another 15 minutes with medium heat, add the spring onions, stir for awhile, take the pan out from fire.
4. In serving plate/bowl, put the rice noodle bean sprouts and shredded omelet. Pour down the curry soup. Add lemon juice, curry and mint leaves.

Read More

Green Leaves Seasoning Curry

The original recipe is called Ork Kaï from Laos (please see my previous post if you want to know where i get the recipe from). But I added more ingredients, including a cup of tea so..i dunno if should still be called Ork Kai or not...Yeah, i have a teapot full of leftover tea from this afternoon, which i do not know what to do with it, hehe.


Ingredients:

• 250 gr of chicken breast fillet cut in thin slices
• 1 tsp dill powder
• 3 leaves of kaffir lime
  
• 10 leaves of Asian basil
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• 1 tsp maizena dilute with 1 tbs water
• 1 tbs of coriander leaves
• 1 tbs of sliced chives
• 1 tbs coooking oil
• 0,5 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• a cup of tea (or more)
  

crushed spices:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 shallots
• 4 bird-eye chillies
• 1 lemon grass
• white pepper

Methods:

1. Stir fry the crushed spices and shrimp paste with oil, and add the chicken and the kaffir leaves. Cook till the chicken is half ready. Add the fish sauce and the dill, stirr well.
2. Add some tea water to the mixture until the chicken is drawned, let it cook till the chicken becomes tender, add the maizena paste, mix well cook for another 5 minutes.
   
3. Add the remaining leaves: coriander, sliced chives and Asian basil. Quickly turn off the heat. Stirr for awhile, and serve.

Ps:
It is all up to you if you want to add salt. Because the fish sauce is already salty.

Read More

Laph Pa (Raw Salmon Salad)

Well, eating raw fish is not the monopoly of the french neither the japs. The Laos seem to like it too, and the proof is the raw salmon salad (Laph Pa). It is very refreshing, and does not smell something fishy at all! The original recipe can be found on Les Meilleures Recettes Du Monde publicated by Orphie, it sometimes does not explain the quantity of ingredients to be used. But it does not really matter..in Indonesia it is the same condition as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of banana blossom, drain the water, cut the blossom in thin pieces
• 200 gr of fresh salmon, cut into thin pieces
  
• 2 lemons
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• 2 green chillies
• 10 mint leaves
• coriander leaves
• chives
• 1 lemon grass
• 1tsp sugar
  

Method:

1. Marinate the banana blossom with lemon juice for 30 minutes, drain the juice out. Do the same thing with the salmon.
2. Blend (or slice thinly) the mints, chillies, coriander, chives.
3. In a salad bowl, combine all of the ingredients.
4. Serve

Read More

Young Papaya Salad Laos Version Revisited

Guilty pleasure! Eat this and try not to talk or even kiss your lover afterwards..guaranty, a big spar will take place right after..hehe.. Nah, actually the dish is not even worst than the green stinky bean and co, but the garlic and the shrimp paste stay in your mouth until you brush your teeth. But anyway, same as stinky beans, they are worth to be tried!! I got the recipe from a Laotian cookbook in French (Orphie Collection - Les Meilleures recettes du monde). I add pinaples in it, and omit the lemon juice since i have no spare in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• ½ green papaya
• 1 carrots
• 1 tomatoes
  
• 2 chillies
• 3 slices of pinapple
• a pinch of tamarind
• salt
• sugar
• 1 tsp of shrimp paste
• 1 grab of dried small shrimp
• 2 tbs of fish sauce

Methods:

1. Cut the papaya, carrots with julienne style, cut the pineapple in thin bits, while thin slices for the tomatoes, and mashed them coarsely using a mortar, set aside.
2. Using the same mortar, mashed the garlics, shrimp paste, sugar, chilies, tamarind, dried shrimps all together.
3. In a big bowl, combine the fruits and the spice, add the fish sauce.
4. You can serve this meal as a side dish of rice meal (just like we do..but I bet it feels a bit weird for most of Indonesian to eat sweet fruits altogether with their rice, but I am getting used to it).

Read More