What is nam khao?
Nam Khao, also known as Nam Kao Tod or Nhem Khao, and sometimes it is called Lao crunchy rice salad in English -speaking countries, is a common appetizer in Laos. The main components are fried balls of rice and a type of fermented pork called som moo . It also contains vegetables, herbs and various other ingredients.
Preparing Nam Khao takes relatively long, because the rice must be cooked and fried before it can be assembled. Some chefs ferment their own som moo , which takes even longer to prepare. som moo consists of fresh ground pork of flavored salt, garlic and chili pepper. It also contains boiled rice and pork leather. This mixture can ferment for several days.
Rice balls are usually made of jasmine or white rice. Before creating the balls, the rice should be completely cooked. Boiled rice is mixed with grated coconut, red curry paste, small sugar and sometimes fish sauce. Be the creamy part of the coconutMilk or eggs can be used to hold the mixture together.
firmly wrapped balls around 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter are made of a mixture of rice. The ball is usually immersed in a beaten egg and then in the corn starch, even if they can be fried without a coating. The rice balls are then deeply fried until they become crispy.
Once fried rice balls are cool enough to handle, they are divided into small pieces to integrate into other salad ingredients. som moo , chopped shallots, lime juice, fried chili peppers and crushed roasted peanuts are typical parts of Nam Khao. Other ingredients may include mint, coriander, fish sauce and green onions. All ingredients of the salad are mixed together.
Nam Khao is usually served in a bowl of salad or leaves of cabbage and maybe other spices on the side such as lime wedges, chilli and herbs. Salad or leaves zelThey allow the salad to eat in the form of a wrap, like a burrito. Usually, part of us Khao is accumulated in a leaf of salad and then ended with any chili peppers or herbs that dinner desire. The leaf is then wrapped around the filling and the whole thing is consumed together. Sometimes a few broken pieces of rice balls are fried again and served with a salad like an extra crispy topping.