Tamarind cookery school

One of the things you notice when in Laos is the constant smell of barbeque. Almost all home food is cooked on hot coals outside on the street. After a visit to one of Luang Prabang’s finer restaurants, we were even more interested in the cuisine. The cuisine is very different to Thai food, with the first appearance of purple sticky rice, herbs such as dill and fish Mok Pa (amok in other countries to follow). We loved the Luang Prabang signature salad, and the dips which accompanied vegetables, so we took no persuasion to sign up for a class and have a go ourselves.

Our class was held in an amazing setting in the forest, with a brilliant teacher. We prepared and cooked:
Oua Si Khai – stuffed lemongrass with chicken
Jeow Mak Len and Jeow Mak Keua – tomato chilli and toasted aubergine dips
Mok Pa – fish steamed in banana leaf
Khao Gam – purple sticky rice with coconut dessert

Steaming baskets

Coals for roasting, cooking and even for softening leaves

Sophie barbeques the aubergine for her mild dip

Olly personalises his banana leaf package

The chicken lemongrass – fiddly preparation for this one!