Isaan Street Food

7 dishes in Thailand

7 street foods from Isaan, Thailand: Som Tam, Larb, Kai Yang, Sai Krok Isan and Khao Jee and more. Each one has its own page with the story behind it and what to look for.

Street foods of Isaan

Isaan Icon · Pounded Papaya Salad Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad) Isaan and Lao cooks make a funkier version with fermented fish sauce (pla ra or padaek), while the som tam Thai sold in Bangkok is sweeter and adds… Shredded green papaya is pounded in a clay mortar with garlic, chilies, tomatoes, palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice, often with dried shrimp or crab thrown in. Vendors mix it to order… Communal Table · Minced Meat Salad Larb (Isaan Minced Meat Salad) In Lao and Isaan, 'larb' sounds like the word for luck or good fortune, which is why it is a favourite at weddings, housewarmings and other… Minced pork, chicken or duck is tossed raw or briefly cooked with lime juice, fish sauce, ground toasted rice, chili powder, shallots and torn mint leaves. It's scooped up with balls of… Roadside Grill · Charcoal Chicken Kai Yang (Isaan Grilled Chicken) Vendors butterfly and pound the whole bird flat before it ever touches the grill, so it cooks evenly over slow charcoal instead of the fast high… A whole chicken is butterflied, pounded flat and marinated in fish sauce, garlic, coriander root and white pepper, then grilled slowly over charcoal until the skin turns deep golden… Market Snack · Sour Fermented Sausage Sai Krok Isan (Fermented Pork Sausage) The tang doesn't come from vinegar — vendors pack the sausage with cooked sticky rice and let it sit for a few days so its own lactic-acid bacteria… Fatty ground pork is mixed with garlic, salt and cooked glutinous rice, stuffed into casings, and left to ferment for a few days until pleasantly sour, then grilled over charcoal. Vendors… Egg-glazed sticky rice · Charcoal breakfast Khao Jee (Grilled Egg-Coated Sticky Rice) In Laos, khao jee has its own merit-making festival, Boun Khao Jee, held around February, when the grilled rice is offered to monks. Patties of sticky rice brushed with seasoned beaten egg and grilled slowly over charcoal until the crust is crisp and smoky and the inside stays soft. Sold at morning markets and roadside… Isaan Grill · Waterfall Salad Nam Tok (Waterfall Meat Salad) The name means 'waterfall', usually explained as the juices that drip from the meat as it grills; the same name is used for boat noodles made with a… Grilled pork or beef is sliced thin against the grain and tossed with lime juice, fish sauce, ground toasted rice, chili flakes, shallots and fresh mint and coriander, served warm… Market Bowl · Herbal Sour Soup Tom Saep (Isaan Spicy Sour Soup) Its name simply means 'delicious soup': saep is the everyday Isaan and Lao word for tasty. Pork ribs or offal are simmered in a clear broth with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves, then seasoned with lime juice, fish sauce, fresh and toasted dried chilies, and finished…

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