I'm in Laos! Laos Food.

We are now in Pakse - I'm finally in Laos! I have a delicious papaya smoothie and yummy orange (real green but sweet oranges) slushie. I am constantly craving fruit in some form or another. I think the knowledge that it's local and super fresh here makes me greedy to eat as much as I can while I'm over here. I accost a couple of Belgian tourists that were on the bus with us and drag them back to the fruit stand and tell them that they have to get something here. They seem unsure of me but when they try my drink they are convinced. Yum!

So, Ramsey and I sit down to eat at the "Best Indian Restaurant in Pakse" according the menu, but Ramsey gets So some Lao food from this other establishment. I want to try her dish but she warns me not to, that it's too hot and it will kill me. She warns me quite earnestly, and that adds to my fear of the chilis but it also increases my desire to try it. I try a tiny little bit of her noodles and they're hot, but not too bad. She warns me again. I decide not to press my luck so I eat only a couple of peanuts off of her dish after that. That is my mistake, the delay of hotness hits me. My entire tongue is bathed in fire. I've never eaten something so hot (except when I was eight years old and was dared to eat a whole fresh raw chili pepper by a fellow student). Super spice pain. I entreat Ramsey to find me some yogurt. He goes to the next restaurant, but there is nothing. I notice an ice-cream fridge behind me and quickly pick the first ice-cream at hand, tear off the top of it and begin to put out the fire in my mouth with its creamy goodness. Now that I have some respite from the burning, I feel a faintness come over me. I try to shake it off. All the endorphins - much like morphine - being released into my brain to combat the chili pain creates a high. I get a slight body buzz and feel a bit disoriented and drugged up. Then Ramsey says, "that's why they are addicted to chilis here, the pain creates a bit of a rush." But no one feels the high like I do cause they are used to it and have a really high tolerance. I can't believe that So is eating the entire dish. Wacky.

Evidently the staple Lao diet involves sticky rice, hot chilis, salt, and tones of MSG (those white bags in the photo below). No kidding.

The attitude towards MSG in Laos is different than in the West. Here it isn't something to be feared, avoided or villianized. Instead it is a very important part of the diet. It has its own distinctive taste that people in the West probably don't notice because they don't eat it in as vast a quantity as the Laos people do. Many Lao people won't eat food unless the MSG flavour is in it. Some people will even add spoonfuls to their dishes. So is slightly allergic to MSG so she has to be more choosey about which dishes she eats. As for the sticky rice, Ramsey thinks that it fills you up faster than any other rice, but takes longer to digest, so it's a good low glycemic index food as well as good fuel for the long haul. The chilis, well, Ramsey warns that I might get addicted to the chilis - this I can't imagine. For those of you who are adverse to hot spices, Laos, at least the Laos that involves authentic food, is not for you. It won't be easy to find real Laos food without chilis in it. Bah pet, bah siep - a saying here that means "not spicy, not tasty". As well, spicy food just makes you feel hotter, and you begin to sweat, making you feel stickier...therefore I can't figure out why so many countries with hot climates have such spicy foods.

Another thing that might turn off those of you who are germaphobes, the Laos don't use many eating utensils and the food is eaten communally. For three or four people at a meal you would have one basket of sticky rice, which you would grab a chunk of with your hand and form into a ball. You would use this ball and some other digit to dip into a sauce or grab onto the other food with. Everyone touches everyone else’s food. Utensils only come in with soup or noodles. Each person gets their own spoon and then they just take from one large communal bowl of soup. There are positives about this method of eating.

1) It cuts down on the use (and therefore the washing) of dishes and cutlery.
2) Sharing increases the sense of community.
3) You can't really tell how much you've eaten, because you don't have a visual cue that informs you of total consumption, therefore you really have to pay attention to your body and figure out when you're full and when you need more...it's a good exercise. I realize how much I depend on visual cues (one bowl, one plate, one serving, one cup, one slice etc.) to inform me of something which I should be able to feel - fullness.
4) It forces you to be considerate and thoughtful towards the other people eating because you can't take too much food or else there won't be enough to fill others.