Vong Sushi Thai and Laos Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Grammatically any of the following is correct: Laotian cuisine, Lao cuisine or the cuisine of Laos. Just don’t ever call it “Laosy cuisine.” That would not only be a malapropism, it would be wholly inaccurate. The cuisine of Laos is among the most dynamic and delicious in Southeast Asia, if not the world. One of the reasons Laotian cuisine doesn’t receive the accolades it deserves is because of its neighbors. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia bordered by Myanmar (formerly Burma), China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. To some extent, these neighbors (at least China, Vietnam and Thailand) have surpassed Laos on the world’s culinary stage–not necessarily because their cuisine is superior, but because it’s got a much larger platform. It’s no surprise that Lao cusine has been greatly influenced by neighboring nations, but a French influence is also in evidence. From 1893 to 1954 when it gained full independence, Laos was part of the Protectorate of French Indonesia. So what’s the Cuisine of Lao like? It might help to understand that its closest “relative” is the cuisine of the Issan region of northern Thailand. New Mexicans who love their food a bit on the…