Mok Pa and Op Kai: Two dishes from Laos on your Ramadan table
Kuwait Times is adding more Asian dishes to your Ramadan table. Laos brings you items from their traditional cuisine; Mok Pa, which is Lao style steamed fish served usually in banana leaves, and Op Kai (stewed chicken), prepared by Phouangsavath Ngaovongsi, wife of Laos’s ambassador to Kuwait. Most items in the Lao cuisine contain vegetables and herbs, rice or noodles, fish, chicken and beef. Laos is blessed with a huge variety of fresh fruits, and most meals are accompanied with freshly cut fruits such as mango, pineapple, watermelon and dragon fruit. The freshness of the ingredients is very important to Lao people who like to prepare everything from scratch rather than use pre-prepared ingredients. They believe that this makes their food more delicious. Herbs such as galangal and lemongrass are their favorite, and ‘padaek’ (Laos fish sauce) is found on every table.
Mok Pa - steamed fish (6 people) Ingredients:
• 1/2 kg fish
• 3 pieces lemongrass
• 3 pieces onion
• 1 pieces coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tea sp monosodium glutamate • 3 tbsp rice soaking
• 5 pieces chili
• 5 pieces hairy basil
• 5 pieces spring onion
• 5 pieces kaffir lime leaves
• 1/2 tea sp salt
• 1 tbsp padek (laotian fomented fish sauce) • Banana Leave/ aluminum wrapper
Preparation:
• Wash fish with pure water and cut it a small piece.
• Soak crushed or pounded rice with lemongrass, chilies and onions.
• Clean and cut kaffir lime leaves and other vegetables.
How to cook:
Put the fish on wild pot and add lemongrass, onions, fish sauce, salt, monosodium glutamate, coriander leaves and others. Then stir the mixture and put it on the center of the banana leaf, then wrap and steam it for 30 minutes. Op Kai - Stewed chicken (4 People) Ingredients: • 1.5 kg whole chicken
• 3 pieces lemongrass
• 2 pieces garlic
• 1 piece galangal
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tea sp monosodium glutamate • 10 pieces kaffir lime leaves
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tea sp pepper
Preparation:
• Wash chicken with pure water and cut it into small pieces.
• Crush the garlic and mix it with sugar. • Slice lemongrass and galangal.
• Slice 1/3 kaffir lime leaves.
How to cook:
•Mix the garlic-sugar mix, salt, fish sauce, monosodium glutamate and pepper together, and put them on the chicken for an hour.
• Put a pot on the stove and add two tablespoon of butter, chicken, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves. Stir them all for five minutes and pour water.
• Cover the pot for 25 minutes, then put the mixture on a plate and serve.