This harmonious dish is one of Asia’s greatest gifts to the world
The dish
Laab, Laos
Plate up
The phrase “meat salad” isn’t all that appetising. And yet, think about laab, which is surely Laos’ greatest gift to the culinary world – maybe even South-East Asia’s greatest gift – and you immediately think, oh yeah. I’ll take that. Because laab, technically known as a meat salad, is a spectacular cornucopia of flavours, all in perfect harmony. This dish is based, as mentioned, on meat, which could be pork, chicken, beef, duck or even fish, which is minced or chopped finely. This mince is usually cooked at low temperature to avoid browning – though sometimes it’s raw – and then mixed with lime juice, chillies, fish sauce, shallots, fresh herbs like mint and coriander, and then toasted ground rice. Laab is typically served with a big ball of sticky rice, and often tam som (green papaya salad) and it’s sour, spicy, salty, herbaceous, pungent, and just stunningly, joyfully delicious.
First serve
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Hang on a second: is this dish not Thai? Because most of us will enjoy our first exposure to laab at a Thai restaurant in Australia (or even a Thai restaurant in Thailand). And it’s true that the Isan region in northern Thailand, which has deep historic connections to Lao people, is well known for its laab. However, this dish is unquestionably Lao in origin. It’s thought to have emerged during the time of the Lan Xang kingdom, which ruled over what is present-day Laos from 1353 to 1707. Laab was made using raw meat back then, which cured slightly in lime juice, though a French explorer who visited Laos in 1883 found both cooked and raw meat being used in this staple dish, which was always served with sticky rice.
Order there
In Vientiane, try the laab at the historic, family-owned Pa Kham Tanh (pakhamtanh.com).
Order here
In Sydney, head out to Fairfield to visit the much-loved Lao Village (facebook.com/LaoVillage). In Melbourne, visit Springvale to try laab at E.Laenoi Lao Restaurant (elaenoilaorestaurant.tuckerfox.com.au). In Adelaide, Zap Lai has you covered (zaplai.au).
One more thing
The Lao people have recently – just in the last few weeks – nominated laab for inclusion on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. This would entrench the dish as being distinctly Lao, rather than shared with other nations.
Ben Groundwater is a Sydney-based travel writer, columnist, broadcaster, author and occasional tour guide with more than 25 years’ experience in media, and a lifetime of experience traversing the globe. He specialises in food and wine – writing about it, as well as consuming it – and at any given moment in time Ben is probably thinking about either ramen in Tokyo, pintxos in San Sebastian, or carbonara in Rome. Follow him on Instagram @bengroundwaterConnect via email.