I had been cooking Japanese cuisine for 20+ years before realizing that it was time to
go back to my roots and cook the food of my culture. I wanted to do this because I’ve
seen over the years that Lao cuisine and culture are almost non-existent. Everyone
knows cuisines from Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and a
couple of other East Asian countries. I wanted to help shine a little more light on Laos.
Because 9.5 out of 10 people I encountered didn’t know anything about Laos. Ma Der!
(ma-derr) specializes in the cuisine of Laos.
I faced many challenges. We opened about a year and half after COVID hit the U.S. on
September 29th, 2021. People were still masked up and being as sanitized as possible.
A lot of people were still slowly coming out in public. The biggest challenge was getting
Oklahomans to eat a cuisine they’ve never heard of and to eat it with their hands.
Laotian food is unapologetic, so our flavors are very bold, spicy, funky, and herbaceous.
Those flavours together is a rare find in Oklahoma. I believe in what I am doing, but
educating the staff and our diners was very crucial in our success. My team had to buy
in and it was up to me to share my culture as much as I could through history and
cuisine.
Our restaurant Ma Der! (ma-derr) is one of few that is doing Laotian food on a full
scale, meaning a full beverage program and offering as many Laotian dishes as
possible. I am proud that my restaurant has been on top 50 lists on Bon Appétit, the
New York Times, USA Today, and two finalist nominations for a James Beard Award. I
now have a second Laotian restaurant serving Laotian chicken noodle soup and other
noodle dishes.
Lao people love sticky rice and laab, a minced meat salad that can be made with
chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, etc. It originated in Laos and is one of those dishes that
were made popular in Thailand. We make mok paa, which is a catfish dish that is
steamed in banana leaves with dill, kaffir, galangal, garlic, and chile peppers. We are
also known for sai oua, a spicy and herbaceous pork sausage, and jaews, chili dips that
can be made with just about anything. The base ingredients are roasted Thai chili
peppers. Garlic, shallots, and two types of fish sauce. We are most similar to Thailand
as you will find in the history books. We do have some similarities to Vietnamese food
as well. We eat more salty, funky, and spicy than sweet.
My favourite dish to eat and make is a Laotian chicken noodle soup called Khao Piek
Sen. The restaurant’s signature dish is our nam khao – a crispy rice salad with
fermented pork, herbs, peanuts, lime, and fish sauce. Our Chuen Gai – twice-fried
chicken wings with a galangal red curry glaze and fried shallots is our second most
popular dish.
Nam Khao (Crispy Rice Salad from Laos)
This salad is the best-selling dish at Ma Der Lao Kitchen, an Oklahoma City Lao restaurant that chef Jeff
Chanchaleune opened with his sister Jeslyn to pay homage to their family’s heritage.
Ingredients
For The Rice Cakes
• 1½ cups jasmine rice
• ½ cups coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. Thai red curry paste, such as Mae Ploy
• 1 large egg Vegetable oil, for frying
For the Salad
5 whole dried medium hot chillies like Thai chili or arbol
¼ cups lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground chillies or red chilli flakes
10 oz cup naem sausage coarsely chopped
1 cup unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
½ cup coarsely chopped mint leaves
3 medium scallions, dark green tops discarded, coarsely chopped
1 small head of red leaf lettuce, cleaned with leaves cut off
Instructions
STEP 1
Make the rice cakes:
In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then set aside for 5 minutes to
drain.
Transfer the rice to a pot, pour in 2 cups of water, and turn the heat to high.
When the water boils, stir once, then turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
Without opening the lid, remove from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes to steam.
(Alternatively, cook the rice in a rice cooker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.)
Use a fork to fluff the rice, then set aside uncovered until cooled to room temperature, about 30
minutes.
STEP 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, fish sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, curry
paste, and egg.
Add the rice and use your hands to combine.
Using wet hands, form ½ cup of the rice mixture into a puck-shaped cake measuring about 3
inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.
Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining rice.
STEP 3
Into a large pot set over medium-high heat, pour the oil to a depth of 2 inches and attach a
deep-fry thermometer.
When the temperature reads 350°F, add enough rice cakes to fill the pan without overcrowding
and fry, turning once, until crisp and golden, about 8 minutes.
Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining rice cakes. Do not remove
from the heat.
STEP 4
Make the salad:
To the pot, add the whole chiles and fry until beginning to brown, about 30 seconds.
Transfer to the plate with the rice cakes and turn off the heat.
STEP 5
In a large bowl, stir together the lime juice, fish sauce, salt, sugar, and ground chiles.
Tear the rice pucks into bite-size pieces and add to the lime juice mixture, then add the naem,
peanuts, cilantro, mint, and scallions and toss to combine.
STEP 6
To serve, cover half of a platter with the lettuce leaves, then scrape the nam khao onto the
other half. Sprinkle with the fried chiles and serve.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chef Jeff Chanchaleune, a 2023 & 2024 James Beard Foundation
finalist, has started restaurants with Lao cuisine, the food of
the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) in Southeast Asia.. His
restaurant Ma Der! (ma-derr) is named for a Laotian phrase that basically means “come eat! or “come thru!”.
