Laotian/Northern Thailand meal: Isaan Sausage, Papaya Salad, and Sticky Rice

The great thing about growing in southern California was the variety of ethnic food available. I grew up eating not only my family’s style of asian cooking but also the cooking styles of other various groups. My family is from Xishuangbanna prefecture of Yunnan province. Because of the proximity to the Burmese, Thai, and Lao borders, our cooking has influences from all three countries plus China.

I was exposed to this wonderful Asian Panethnic cuisine. (I am borrowing the words from Yen Le Espiritu, one of professors in college. http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/898_reg.html) I ate Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian, Chinese, and everything in between. Even with my classical European-centric culinary training, my taste buds still crave the addictive flavors of Asian cuisine.

When we ate out and wanted flavors closer to our own home cooking, my parents would take us to Trieu Chau restaurant. I’m not sure how to categorize this restaurant. The food is Trieu Chau/Chiu Chow style. Trieu Chau is the Vietnamese pronunciation. I have a good friend who is Trieu Chau. She explains it as ethnic Chinese with a Vietnamese flair. Her own family is ethnic Chinese but moved to Vietnam. The Chinese influence is prevalent in many Asian countries.

Before I go to bed at night I think about what I want to eat the next day and plan in my head what I need prep. I wanted papaya salad. I rarely ever make my own papaya salad. I don’t have the required mortar and pestle. I’ve successfully made it without the mortar and pestle and I do have most of the ingredients on hand (except for the papaya, tomatoes, limes, and long bean) but it is easier to buy some at the Cambodian restaurant for $6. The restaurant has the strangest name “Woody’s Wings ‘N Things.” They were originally a hot wing restaurant and I think they added the Cambodian cuisine.

I really like their papaya salad. There are various versions of papaya salad. The Lao or Isaan version is too aromatic and too spicy for me. I prefer it made with shrimp and crab paste instead of the fermented fish (pa dak). I also like the Thai version, especially the one with real seafood in it. My mom just learned how to make this style. She makes a syrup using palm sugar and perhaps tamarind? I’m not sure what all goes into it but she does poach shrimp and/or scallops and mixes it all together. I do have a preference but I’m not that picky. I will eat the Lao/Isaan style just as long as someone else makes it.

I have one last package of Lao/Isaan sausage or Sai Oua in the freezer. I brought it back on one of my trips to San Diego. My mom has been purchasing sausage from a Laotian lady for years now. We didn’t eat it too often at home because once I decided to stop eating red meat, my brother and soon my sister soon followed suit. My dad didn’t like the “smell” of the sausage. I have to admit that it is a bit strong. A lot of Asian food has strong odors. I’m sure a lot of people also find our fermented soybeans a bit smelly. Smelly food has a special place in my heart.

To complete the meal I must have sticky rice. I don’t cook sticky rice often so I don’t have a sticky rice steamer. Growing up we used to cook two types of rice every day. At night my mom would soak two jack fruit cans (her measuring cup) of sticky rice. We always had to choices of rice for our meal (sticky or jasmine). As life got a little more hectic, the daily sticky rice sometimes disappeared and only reappeared on occasion. Sticky rice has become a real treat for me. I have a huge 5 gallon bucket in my garage but I seldom cook it.


So what was the point of my rambling post? I'm posting about my unconventional method for cooking sticky rice.

1. Measure out some sticky rice. I did about 3 cups. The unsoaked rice is very white and opaque. (This is how I can tell the difference between the sticky rice and the jasmine rice.)

2. Soak rice over night or at least 6 hours. You can also do the fast soak method by soaking in hot water for at least 2 hours but the texture of the cook rice will be a little uneven. There will be some soft and some crunchy grains.

The rice should be a little more translucent and the grains look like the have cracked.

3. Drain rice in a strainer. You want to get most of the water out. You don't want water-logged rice grains.

4. Prep the steamer. I am using an all-purpose steamer since I do not own a sticky rice steamer. You can devise your own steamer. A pasta pot with a steamer insert also works. If the holes are too large, line it with a cheesecloth. My parents had a bamboo insert made especially for one of their steamers.

5. Add the drained rice and cover with the cloth. I'm using my favorite flour sack towel.

7. Steam rice for about 15 minutes (at high altitude, because water boils at a lower temp, I find that I need to steam the rice almost twice as long and the quick soak method is almost always a disaster). Halfway through the cooking, you want to "flip" the rice. It is a little tougher to do this in my jerry-rigged steamer. When the rice is done, use a wooden spoon (wet it with water so the rice doesn't stick) and gently flip the rice to cool it.

Storage: Most Asian families store their sticky rice in a bamboo sticky rice container. Not every household will have one of these containers. I store mine in the damp flour sack towel that I steamed the rice in and then I place it in the strainer. The holes allow the steam to escape. My grandma now stores her sticky rice in a small igloo ice chest lined with cloth. My mom sometimes place serving size portions into little sandwich baggies. She leaves the baggies out for the day and then place them in the refrigerator for later. She takes a little baggie out and microwaves for about 30 seconds and it is as good as freshly steamed.

Uncooked sausages:

I like to steam the sausages for about 10 minutes and then bake until slightly golden but not for too long or the sausages will be dry. My mom likes to deep fry the links.Wait until they are slightly cool before slicing.