Archive for March, 2009
Sticky Rice is Laotian Rice and the staple of Lao cuisines.
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To cook it, it is first soaked in water then steamed in a wicker basket known as a “Huat” before being moved to another wicker container called the “Dhip Khao” (or Dip Kao) for serving. Dhip Khao come in many sizes, from cute single portions to whopping family sized versions.
It is eaten with the hands, pressed in to a ball or oblong shape.
The raw rice can also be dry roasted in a pan then crushed with a pestle and mortar in to a coarse powder. In this state it is called “Khao Kwah” and is mainly used in Larbs and gives the dish a wonderful nutty aroma. It can also be used to thicken dipping sauces made from chopped Shallots, Fish Sauce, Sugar, Chilli Flakes and Shrimp Paste, this spicy-salty-sweet dip is great with fruits like Green Mango or Grapefruit.
The combination of the dip and the fruits provide a magical blend of Spiciness, Saltiness, Sweetness and Sourness, which are the four prominent elements found in most Lao dishes. (The 5th is Bitterness, but that is an acquired taste). 
Left over Laotian Rice can also be dried then deep fried.
Normally the rice would be laid out to dry in the sun on wicker mats, however, we can also achieve this in a shorter time by placing it overnight in an oven set to its lowest temperature.
When dried the rice becomes brittle and hard.
We buy our chickens whole and section them in the kitchens. The thighs are destined for our Teppenyaki Tables as well as our Ping Gai dish, the breast meat is used for our Wok section, the wings and legs are used for our Staff Dining Room and the bones are used for stocks and sauces.
The giblets are used for snacks!
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Sardines don’t only come in tins!
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Fresh sardines are wonderful and quite cheap. During the summer the aroma of grilled sardines waffles through the air as tapas bars and restaurants grill them “a la plancha”, seasoned only with coarse sea salt and served with a slice of country bread. The meat is tenderly inviting, but watch out for those bones! 
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One summer I had to go to the A&E to have a bone removed from the back of my throat. Not a nice. 
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However, that experience hasn’t put me off sardines at all, it has just made me eat the more carefully. 
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Named after the island of Sardinia, sardines are available fresh, pickled, smoked and canned (in tins). The latter is what most people will be accustomed to, however if your fishmonger has some, do try them fresh, you´ll be hooked.
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Another favourite Spanish way to serve them are marinated. 
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Fillets of sardines are covered with salt and some form of vinegar with a few slivers of garlic and some aromatics. They are left for a few hours then wiped and placed in olive oil and topped with chopped parsley.
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In tapas bars they are usually served two fillets per portion or “tapa”. They are great with a chilled Fino Sherry. 
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Our fillets were made to be served in our bar during our “Tapas Time” when we prepare daily nibbles for people to enjoy in the afternoon. We also served up some dried seasoned beef.
Thin slices of beef are marinated and dried slowly in our oven before being briefly deep fried.
It would be a crime to call them Laotian Beef Jerky, that just makes the reader assume that we have copied the South American dried meat that was introduced to the US in the 16th Century. Laotians have been drying meats and fish for preservation since time immemorable.
Anyway, back to the sardines.
Before we served up the marinated sardines in the bar we used them in the restaurant.
The Japanese name for Sardine Sushi is “Iwashi”. This is where the idea for our dish originated.
Loosely translated the start of the conversation went like this:
Me: So Saki, its your birthday, what do you want to eat?
Saki: Chef, I would love to have some Kao Piak Sen.
“Kao Piak” means “wet rice” and refers to “rice soup”. Laotian rice soup is served with more liquid (broth) than its Chinese cousin the Congee, which is more like a porridge, hence sometimes it is found on Chinese menus as “Rice Porridge”.
Think of Kao Piak as a (kinda) Pho with rice. The starch from the rice will slightly thicken the stock that it is cooked in, giving it more body.
“Kao Piak Sen” is the rice soup served with noodles in place of the rice.
So the conversation continued:
Me: Khamsene, wanna make some noodles?
Sen: Yes Chef!
This wasn’t a planned part of the night as we had finished our Service and cleaned up after a busy night, however, in “good ole Laocook fashion“, we attacked the mission “con mucho gusto“.
Luckily we already had some Iberian Pork Ribs boiling away throughout the evening, so that took care of the stock.
We didn’t have at hand all the ingredients that we would have liked so we made the noodles from Tapioca Flour and boiling water. Ideally we would have liked to have blended the flour with some Rice Flour, but seeing as the Storeman had gone home, there was no access to the storerooms.
Boiling water is slowly added to the flour which is “carefully” mixed to form a dough.
We use a little trick to help the dough along by steaming it for a few minutes in a cloth.
Once it has cooled enough to handle it is kneaded. This is perhaps the most important part of making the noodles.
The better it is kneaded, the better the result will be. If it is not kneaded well enough the result can be brittle noodles instead of the springy and chewy texture that we want.
It is amazing that when in the right hands, a humble piece of fruit or vegetable can be transformed in to a piece of art.
Daikon and Carrots.
Melons (before).
Melons (after).
Daikon, Carrot and Melon on the table.
At the restaurant we don’t garnish our dishes with fruit carvings unlike other Asian restaurants, but when former Laocook member Phaitoon popped over for a visit, we couldn’t help ourselves and decided to enlist him to create some centre pieces for our tables.
Fruit Carving is an art and it takes a huge amount of practice and patience to create such wonderful looking pieces.
Phaitoon happily donned on a cooks jacket and armed with a small knife he set to work through our Fruit and Vegetable fridge.
Not content with Melons, Daikon and Carrots he started on our Pumpkins.
