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From the Ground: Lao Home Cooking

By Nicole Long and Jay Austin

We have a new cooking class option in Laos, and this is not your typical cooking course.  Our guests will have the chance to spend time in an authentic Laotian kitchen, and learn how to cook traditional dishes the local way. Anthony Bourdain recently was in this exact home learning to cook Lao-style by your hosts, Por and Mae Keo.  The tour is completely private so it works very well for small groups and families.

What to expect from this tour:

This morning you will be picked up from your hotel by your guide and transferred by private van to meet today’s Homestyle Lao Cooking instructor at the Phousi Market. You will stroll through Luang Prabang’s largest fresh market and learn about traditional herbs and spices as you pick up the ingredients for today’s menu. Once you have finished shopping at the market, you will head 15 minutes outside of town to Nong Kham Village. With the assistance of your guide, the instructor will go over the day’s menu and demonstrate some of the techniques useful in traditional Lao cooking. Then, just like a typical Lao family, you will be responsible for cooking one of the dishes for lunch. Don’t worry, your guide and Lao chef are nearby to provide any assistance needed! Once the staple dish, Lao sticky rice has finished cooking you will help to set up for lunch. Finally, enjoy your fruits of labor by having lunch the typical Lao way by sitting on the floor and eating family style from a small rattan tray. After lunch, sit back and relax under the breezy wooden and bamboo outdoor sala and enjoy some homemade rice whiskey with your hosts. Once you have had your fill of the pungent Lao Lao you will say goodbye to your hosts and be transferred back to your hotel.

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