Khao Lam Rice in Bamboo, Laos 2024-2025
Lao rice dishes can be spicy, salty, or sweet. Do not miss the chance to try the latter in one of its many variations
Best time: November–March
Lao people adore rice. This will become quite clear once you explore the incredible amount of dishes made with rice. Rice with meat or rice soup will not surprise people from western countries, but rice desserts deserve some special attention.
When the cool season starts in November, Khao Lam appears in markets and at every festival. This is a sticky rice which is prepared in a bamboo tube with coconut milk and beans and plugged with coconut husk or banana leaves. When you buy this delicacy, you unwrap the bamboo cover and get a thick stick of sweet rice.
If you arrive in Laos at the end of the cool season in March, you will also find another variation of sweet sticky rice topped with slices of mango and coconut cream. Those who like experimental food should try such dish with durian.
This dish is popular as well in the neighbouring countries—Cambodia and Thailand, but each has its special ways of preparation.
People interested
