It is a very busy time for everyone, and we like being busy. :)

For our Christmas Day Brunch, the team made a Carving Section which included Roasted Duck, Piglet and Beef Rib.

Khamhoung prepares the Duck for Air Drying.

Saki and Sen get the section ready.

Christmas Brunch wouldn’t be complete without Turkey! (followed by Turkey Sandwiches, Turkey Soup, Turkey Larb! etc..etc.. )

During our recent staff party, the team decided to dress to impress! ;)

Junior and Sen, mean business..

:)

***

We are currently putting the final touches to our Gala New Year Dinner, with all the 300 seats fully booked. Apart from preparing the large range of Champagne Appetizers, two of our best dishes feature in the 5 Course and 2 Desserts Dinner, which is being prepared by the Central Kitchen (which means all of the cooking teams from all the restaurants).

On the 1st January 2008 (hopefully not hungover , all of us are preparing an All Day 5 Star Brunch, so as you can see, we love being busy .

The next post will be in 2008 (a few days after I recover! ;) ), so until then, on behalf of the Laocook Team we:

Wish You a Very Happy,

Healthy and Fun 2008!

(2008, Let´s get Fatter!)

I guess that around this time of year you are either;

A) Visiting relatives or friends houses for lunch or dinner, or

B) People are coming around to your home, and you are preparing the food. :shock:

One great appetizer or cold buffet favourite is Smoked or Marinated Salmon. Because we wouldn’t want to be responsible for you burning your kitchen or having your house filled with smoke, we are going to share our recipe for Marinated Salmon.

The Scandinavians have been curing Salmon since the Middle Ages. The dish has many names, the best known being Gravlax (though those from Norway, Iceland or Finland could disagree!). ;)

These recipes call for 4 main ingredients, which are Salmon, Salt, Sugar and Dill.

It is very easy to make, all you need is patience.

We make ours using Coriander Leaves, and sometimes we add shredded Lime Leaves and Lemongrass. Below is our recipe for Coriander Marinated Whole Salmon.

You will need a cleaned whole Salmon, head removed, cut in to two fillets and all bones removed (if you don’t have time, ask your fishmonger to do this for you). You don’t have to have the scales removed.

In a Pestle and Mortar pound together 3 Star Anise, about a tablespoon of Black Peppercorns, 2 tablespoons of Coriander Seeds, 10-12 Juniper Berries, 2 Bay Leaves and a pinch of 5 Spice Powder.

In a bowl, mix together ¾ Cup of Maldon Salt and 1 Cup of Sugar.

Finely chop some Coriander Leaves and Stems, the more the better.

Place some Cling Film, large enough to fit the Salmon on a work surface.

Mix the pounded spices with the salt and sugar mix, sprinkle some of this and some of the Coriander Leaves on to the film.

Lay one Salmon fillet, skin side down on to the film. Cover this with some the chopped Coriander.

Cover the fillet with the rest of the Spices, Salt and Sugar mix.

Make sure that you cover as much as the surface area as possible.

Place the other fillet on top, head to tail.

Gather up the Cling Film and wrap the Salmon “Sandwich” tightly.

You will now need a suitably sized container to store the fish in the fridge for 3 days. What will happen during this time is that moisture will be drawn out of the fish, mix with the dry marinade and turn that in to a sort of syrupy brine. You should turn over the fish every morning to distribute the thick liquid. Some recipes tell you to weigh the fish down, but if you have wrapped it firmly in the film you don’t have to.

After three days, remove the fish from the film, scrape off the remaining bits of the marinade, (some recipes tell you to wash the fillet under cold running water, but what is the point of that?) and slice as you would a Smoked Salmon.

Re-wrapped and kept in the fridge, the Salmon can be kept up to a week, or frozen for later use (make sure to defrost it in slowly in the fridge).

If you prefer a more salty flavour, just decrease the amount of sugar used.

If you ask 10 cooks how they prepare an Octopus, you will probably get 10 different answers.

I have heard of fisherman “smashing” the Cephalopod on rocks and hanging them out to dry for a while before grilling them, or housewives “beating the tentacles” before cooking in salted water (adding a wine cork), or avant guard cooks “confitting” them in flavoured Olive Oils, or steaming them in “Sous Vide” bags, the list goes on…

Why all the fuss? (I hear you say). Well, the short and quick answer is because Octopus has a reputation for being tough if not cooked properly, or “squidgy” if cooked too long.

My method of boiling the Octopus gives good results every time (well, for me anyway ;) ), and is fairly easy.

The Octopus we buy comes frozen and already cleaned (when caught it is quickly frozen seeing as Octopus spoils quickly).

Once defrosted it is put in a pan of cold water (just to cover) with a whole sliced Daikon, bunch of Celery sticks and leaves, a few Bay Leaves, a chopped Onion, a split Carrot and half a bottle of white wine.

It is brought to the boil, you have to watch it at this moment otherwise your cooker will be full of overspill “Cappuchinolised Octopus Foam!!!”, when the water is boiling, lower the heat to a gentle simmer and set your timer for 1 hour. (You may have to top up the water depending on what you consider a “gentle simmer”, if so, make sure the water used is boiling hot).

When the hour has passed, remove the Octopus, which would have shrunk incredibly, and allow to cool. Once cooled, cover and place in the fridge until needed.

Living in Spain, Octopus is available in nearly every Tapas Bar, and is mainly served “a la Gallega” (Galician Style), on top of boiled potatoes and seasoned with Sea Salt, Olive Oil (a good one) and some Paprika powder.

It was this dish that gave the inspiration for ours. After cooking the Octopus as described above, it was then thinly sliced and covered with a Miso and Tamarind mix for a day or two, before being grilled.

Keeping with the Spanish theme, it was served with boiled Potato chunks cooked in Olive Oil (a good one). :)

It is served with Miso Mayo dollops and has a Sweet and Tangy taste.

Only the tentacles are used for this small dish (only available on the “Aharn Menu”), the Head we used for something else…

Octopus Head Yum, a simple salad of diced Cucumber and Octopus head tossed in Yuzu Sesame Vinaigrette.

A wedge of Lime is offered for those who like their Amuse Bouche more sour.

***

Seeing as the festive season is in full swing, we have (loads of) Turkey to prepare.

Our supplier is a local company that raises organic free-range poultry, they are a little bit more expensive, but the taste is so much better.

On behalf of the whole A-Team, we wish everyone a safe and happy festive season (just think of us working in the hot kitchen whilst you and you family/friends enjoy your parties.) :(

You can buy nearly everything at the Morning Market, and any trip to Vientiane wouldn’t be complete without visit to the “Talat Sao”.

The market is moving to a newer and air conditioned home next door, the new multi-storey car park is already in use, though most people still park in the surrounding streets.

As with any market, there are many things on offer, from T.V´s and other electrical appliances (big and small), Books and Stationary, Toiletries and Household Products, Gold and Silver (upstairs), Clothes and Textiles, etc, etc, etc…

The vast food section sells Vegetables & Fruits, Meat & Poultry, Fish, Spices, Herbs and Ready-to-eat foods. It is perhaps the busiest part of the market.

A stall selling cooked meats such as pork, duck, chicken, beef and tripe.

A portion of Crispy Pork being cut. It will be sold wrapped in the Banana Leaf, then in to a small carrier bag.

“You looking at me?”

Stewed Duck Webs are nice to eat with some cold Beerlao. Some people may not like the idea of eating animal feet or hooves, but I love them…

Nearly every part of the animal is edible. Nothing good should go to waste.

Som Moo, Sour or Fermented Pork. We have a recipe for this here.

Lovely ripe Sugar Apples. Hmmmmm.

Lod Chong Desserts, sold in bags with Coconut Cream and Liquid Palm Sugar.

Despite the name, the Morning Market is open from about 06.00 until 17.30hrs everyday, and is situated opposite the main Post Office. You can haggle over many things except the cooked food items, but seeing as the items are cheap by EU standards, it shouldn’t be a worry.

A word of warning, be careful when ordering a “Tum Mak Houng” (Papaya Salad), even if you ask for it “Bor Phet lai” (not so hot), the likelihood is that it will still leave your mouth on fire!. ;)

Want to help feed our children, and at the same time win and experience perhaps a “once in a lifetime” prize?

If the answer is YES, then point your browser to Chez Pim, the diva of foodie blogs, and the “Menu For Hope”.

The raffle is open until the 21 December, and there are untold, and fantastic foodie prizes to be won, and it is all for a GOOD CAUSE.

It doesn’t matter where you live, there are worldwide prizes available, way too much for me to list here.

Check out Pim´s site, donate some money, feel better and perhaps win something memorable, and sit back in the joy in knowing that you have helped donate to a something important.

Perhaps the most important festival in the Lao calender. Held in November to coincide with the full moon. There is a huge concentration of visitors during this 4 day long event. You really have to be there to enjoy the experience as words only fail to transmit the atmosphere.

In our LCTV Presentation, we hunt for “street vendor” BBQ Crispy Pork, before heading off to the That Luang later in the evening.

We don’t really like to serve bread in the Asia restaurant, it doesn’t seem to fit with our food, especially as all our main dishes are served with a side order of steamed rice.

However, when we make our “Aharn Menu”, which includes, what we like to call “Neo Laotian Cuisine”, others call it “Fusion Cuisine”, and some of my staff have jokingly called it “Pée Bha Cuisine”, we have to make some exceptions.

I had been thinking a lot about what should accompany our Duck, Liver and Mango dish (which has gone through another change since its original form).

The Original. The basic ingredients used where raw Duck Breast, Foie Gras and ripe Mango.

The Sequel, our second version. Here we decided to roll the Duck Breast around the Foie Gras and pan fry the Mango with Brown sugar and Sea Salt.

The Latest Offering sees us wrapping the Foie Gras with ripe Mango then rolling it in the Duck Breast, this time we serve it with a heavily reduced Teriyaki style sauce with homemade Pear Jam.

During my many visits to restaurants in France and other countries, I had always enjoyed Foie Gras with Brioche, a heavy style bread made from loads of butter and eggs.

We have a good supply of Pandan Juice made from fresh leaves in our freezer, so it seemed natural to try to make our own version of Brioche, using the vibrant green juice and aroma of Pandan.

Our first attempt ended up with an overly green bread, something that would have made the Incredible Hulk envious. :)

It looked too artificial, like we had used a green dye or food colouring in the recipe. Luckily no photos exist of that attempt. ;)

After a few more trials, we ended up with a good recipe, not too green, that still retained the unique aroma of the Pandan Leaves. Hence our Pandan Brioche was born.

When lightly grilled the bread gives off an inviting Buttery Pandan scent. The bread and the Duck, Liver and Mango dish still need a little more “fine tuning”, but at least we are on our way…

***

Another dish which is evolving is our New Style Goong Che Nam Pla.

We have added marinated Tomatoes and Pine Kernels to the base of King Prawns and our “Crystal Shallots”. This dish as a far cry from the original dish that is found in many Lao or SE Asian restaurants, however it remains one of our most ordered Signature Dishes.

***

One new dessert that we offered this week was our Apple, Apple, Apple, Apple and Apple. Yes I know!, naming new dishes is not one of my strong points!. ;)

Here we have Apple Jelly, Apple Compote, Fresh Apple, Apple Jam and Dried Apple. There is a chance that we might add an Apple Sorbet on top in the future, but we cant think of a name for the dessert.

We also serve Green Tea Macarones, which are lovely and have a silky inner texture and crispy crust.

Another dessert with a “name crisis” is our Pumpkin, Pumpkin and Pumpkin.

Pumpkin biscuit, Pumpkin Cream and sweet toasted Pumpkin Seeds.The addition of Pumpkin Ice Cream will just make the name sound silly.

However, not all is lost, we do have one desert with an easy-going name.

Its just called, Peach and Peach. Its made from Yellow and Red Peaches and is drunk from the shot tube.

Our Pastry Chef Akiyama and I will be busy in the next few weeks as we are working on some more exotic desserts, however, I may leave the naming of the dishes to someone else….

To get to Laos I had to fly through Bangkok. To get to Bangkok, I had to get to Madrid.

Thai Airways International fly direct from the Spanish Capital to her Thai counterpart. I wanted to spend a few nights in cold Madrid before heading off to the South East Asian sun.

Like most big cities, Madrid has a lot to offer. It is extremely busy, with everyone seeming to rush to some place or another. The centre is more or less compact, so most places of interest are reachable by Metro or Taxi.

If you are a “Shopaholic”, Madrid is your town. Seeing as we were there during a national holiday, it seemed that everyone and their neighbour was out shopping and eating. Tapas in the town are famous, and all the bars are full from opening time till their late closing time.

(asking the doorman to recommend a place to eat).

I love markets and will visit them wherever I go. I love to look at the available food. Whilst Rosalia shops for clothes, I can normally be found window shopping for food. ;)

“Cochinillo” or Piglet on sale with Blood Sausage… hmmmm… I can think of hot winter recipes with roasted vegetables… lovely.. :)

Chorizo´s are great cooked in stews or simply grilled. A kind of Spanish “Sai Koch”

Every good Tapas bar worth a visit has its selection of Jamón (pronounced “Hammon”), cured Spanish Ham. The best ham is the “Jamón Ibérico de Bellota” aka “Pata Negra” (Black Hoofed), acorn fed pork from Andalucia. Expensive, but worth it.

When cut correctly, these thin slivers have a nutty aroma and melt-in-the-mouth buttery texture.

Back in the Laocook kitchen we are currently working on “something secret” that will (hopefully) marry the rustic taste of Jamón with something more familiar with Lao foodies (or at least become well acquainted with, like a Fiancé perhaps). ;)

(a man with a mission to find more food!)

Nowadays there are many entry points in to Laos. If you want to get directly to the Capital, you will arrive at Wattay International Airport.

If you haven’t already got a Visitors Visa for the country, you can get one at the airport on arrival (it is best to fill out the forms before you land to avoid the queues, and make sure you have US$ ready). You can download and print a pdf version of the Visa Application Form from the many Lao Embassy websites.

Lao Airlines operates 3 flights from Bangkok daily. The flight is quite short, so by the time you have settled in, the plane will be starting to make its descent in to Vientiane.

On board you can spend your time enjoying a birds-eye view the green lush Rice Paddies and Mountains. They also feed you.

“Ping Gai” and Sticky Rice!

Pity there was no Tomato Chutney (Jéow Mhak Lhen), that would have been perfect. ;)

***

When you think about eating Frog, French style Frog Legs (Cuisses de Grenouilles) normally spring to mind, but the Lao also enjoy Frog, the Whole Frog, simply fried with Lime Leaves, Chilli and Garlic.

A perfect afternoon snack of Frog goes down well with a chilled Beerlao. :)

Small, Cozy and Very Clean are the first impressions that strike you when you arrive at Makphet Restaurant, a training restaurant that I had the pleasure to visit a few weeks ago.

After a warm welcome from the Students (under the watchful and smiling guidance of their Teachers), you know that you are in a special and friendly restaurant. Most of the tables were full (always a good sign) when we arrived, occupied mostly by foreign tourists. I was intrigued to see what kind of operation they had, having missed the chance to eat there during my previous trip to Vientiane earlier this year.

I was surprised to be spoken to in English (Chef Kavisack later explained to me that the Students receive English classes as well as Restaurant and Kitchen Training).

From his tiny kitchen, Chef Kavisack and his team oversee the training of the students, teaching them Hygiene, Health and Safety, Food Preparation and Cooking.

He kindly allowed me in to his kitchen during his Service. At some points I counted 10 Students running around, opening fridges, collecting mixing bowls, chopping vegetables, checking the steamer, controlling the heat of the oil for deep frying etc… To the untrained eye, it may seem like panic, but for us it was organisation and well trained staff. Everyone knew what the others were doing.

Whilst skillfully mixing flour, sugar and egg in to the small food mixer and hand-molding his cake mixture in to star shapes, Chef Kavisack explained to me what Makphet was all about.

His students receive training in all aspects of Food Production, from Costing to Serving, everyone plays a part in the running of the restaurant. They learn to respect the primary ingredients, the handling of food, the utensils and machines. Any broken plates or glasses are replaced from the Tip Box.

The mission of Makphet Restaurant is to serve well cooked Laotian Cuisine and present it in a modern and appealing fashion.

Careful consideration has been made about what goes on the menu, with freshness being paramount. All food preparation is made in the morning, nothing is reheated or served the following day.

This means that the restaurant is not cheap by Vientiane standards, but you are ensured well prepared dishes, the menu states that the Salads are Bacteria free, which shows consideration for the minute details.

The food on offer is unfussy yet captures the essence of Lao cooking with the use of aromas, herbs and spices. Presentation is colourful and uncluttered. Dishes are made to order, so expect a little waiting time.

Service is pleasant, and don’t be put off by the sight of three or four of them around your table listening to the Teacher explain things, after all, it is a Training Restaurant.

Generous portions are served, and the menu explains and recommends that the dishes should be shared (the Lao way). :)

Don’t miss the Tofu, Banana Blossom and Chilli Larb, or the Mango and Black Sticky Rice dessert!

They also have a small shop upstairs called Noi-Noi, which sells items made from recycled materials.

Chef Kavisack told me that they were also working on a Cook Book (with recipes by the Students), and such is the philosophy of the organisation, the profits will be returned to the training programme to continue their hard and important work.