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Or Lam

Or Lam is a traditional Laotian recipe for a classic curry-like stew of beef and beef skin with aubergines (eggplants) and wood ear mushrooms, flavoured with Lao chilli wood. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Laotian version of: Or Lam.

prep time

30 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

60 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating:

Tags : CurrySauce RecipesSpice RecipesBeef RecipesLaos Recipes

The favourite dish for Luang Prabang people. Or Lam is certainly one of the most often prepared and the most traditional dishes of Luang Prabang, probably along with Tièo Bong and the Papaya Salad. It is recommended to prepare it a long time in advance and to let it rest before eating it. Traditionally this is made with water buffalo skin. Here I’ve added pork crackling (pork skin roasted until crisp). This is because the fat from the pork gives the or lam a richness. Note that the Padaek called for in this recipe is Lao fish sauce (Lao: ປາແດກ) is a traditional Lao condiment made from pickled or fermented fish that has been cured. It is thicker and more seasoned than the fish sauce more commonly seen throughout Thailand and Vietnam, often containing chunks of fish. Unlike other versions of fish sauce in Southeast Asia, padaek is made from freshwater fish, owing to the landlocked nature of the country.

Ingredients:

500g stewing beef
10 round aubergines (eggplants)
10 long beans, cut into 5cm lengths
1kg small round aubergines (eggplants) (the bright green ones about 1cm in diameter)
300ml (1/2 a small bowl of Padaek (Lao fish sauce)
3 citronella
3 onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 kg of crisp rind of roasted pork (pork cracking)
a small bowl of dill leaves
5 spring onions
a small bowl of tamarind leaves
10 green peppers
1 tsp salt
1 soup spoon of fish sauce
1 kg beef skin
5 pieces of Sakhane (Piper ribesioides)
1 bowl of grilled sticky rice
300g dried wood ear mushrooms

Method:

Put the wood ear mushrooms into a bowl, cover with warm water and set aside to soak.

Cut the meat into slices and grill those pieces, turning them regularly until nicely coloured on both sides.

Pound the citronella, crush the garlic and crush the onion in a mortar. Mix these together then add to a dry pan and cook over medium heat for about 12 minutes, until golden. Tarn take off the heat and turn onto a plate.

Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Set in a bowl of water and allow to soak for 5 minutes.

Slice the pork crackling, soaked wood ear mushrooms and green bell pepper into small pieces.

Bring 2l water to a boil. Add the beef and simmer for 20 minutes, until tender. At this point add the sakhane, paderk and the citronella mixture. Cook for 2 minutes then add the remaining ingredients.

Season to taste with salt and stir in the grilled rice and all the vegetables. Finely chop the spring onions and add these too.

Cook for 10 minutes so that all the ingredients are heated through.

Serve hot, accompanied by rice.

Note that if you can't get hold of the sakhan, you can approximate the taste and effects by combining the following in a tea infuser: 1 tsp black peppercorns, 5 Sichuan peppercorns, 1 dried red chilli, 1 celery leaf. Drop the infuser into your stew/curry at the same point as the recipe calls for the Lao chilli wood and fish out near the end of cooking.