Thai Isan Food

Thai Isan Food

Thailand's Northeast Isan region

boasts some of the kingdom's best foods on offer, and its cooking is alive with he delicious flavors of neighboring Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

1. Larb

Larb is a type of Lao meat salad. It is most often made with chicken, beef, duck, turkey, pork or even fish, flavored with fish sauce and lime. The meat can be either raw or cooked; it is mincedchilli, mint and, optionally, assorted vegetables. Roughly ground toasted rice (kao kua) is also a very important component of the dish. The dish is served at room temperature and usually with a serving of sticky rice. A common variation is neu-ah nam tok ("waterfall beef" but it could mean the dripping of meat juice during the grilling as well), in which beef is cut into thin strips instead of using ground beef. and mixed with

Larb is the unofficial national dish of Laos and it is also popular in Northeastern Thailand, where the cuisine is heavily influenced by Laos. It is quite common to see this popular Lao meat salad served at Lao and Thai restaurants.

There is also a variant from Northern Thailand which does not use lime or fish sauce, but rather other local condiments for flavor and seasoning. "Larb pla" (Thai: ลาบปลา) is one kind of larb which made of minced fish mixed with spices. There is a kind of larb called lu (Thai: หลู้), which made of minced raw beef mixed with blood, bile and spices. Lu is usually eaten with vegetables and often served with beer or the local moonshine called lao khao.

It can also be served as a main course along with other non-northeastern food.

2.Pla ra

Pla ra (Thai: ปลาร้า) is fermented fish sauce, popular in Northeastern Thai cuisine.

It is made by pickling Mud fish (Channa striata). The fish is cleaned and cut into pieces, after which it is mixed with salt and rice bran. The whole is then left in a big jar covered with a wooden lid, to ferment for a very long time, from three months to a year.

Pla ra sauce is often added to Som tam. There is also a dried powdered version of Pla ra that has been successfully marketed recently.