nam khao

A Lao crispy rice salad (Nam Khao) with crispy, chewy textures with a balance of sweet, tart, salty and spiciness.

Lao Crispy Rice Salad (Nam Khao)

rice

Thai red curry paste

garlic ((minced))

shallot ((minced))

kaffir lime leaves

sugar

fish sauce

water

lime ((juiced))

rice vinegar

red birdseye chili ((sliced))

som moo ((fermented meat sausage))

mint

basil

cilantro

onions

peanuts

rice powder

shallots ((sliced and soaked in cold water to remove the raw bite))

green onions ((chopped))

birdseye chili peppers

lime juice

Soak the sticky rice for a minimum of 4 hours. Drain water

In a pot, bring water to a boil and pour the rice into a colander and set on top of the pot. Put the lid on and steam for 15 mins.

After 15 minutes, turn the rice over in the colander so the other side can be steamed for 15 minutes. Steam rice until it is translucent. (Be careful, the colander is very hot!)

Remove rice from the pot, put it into a bowl and cover with a towel for 15-30 minutes until warm and sticky.

Add in the curry paste, lime leaves, garlic, shallot, sugar, fish sauce and egg and mix well.

Set deep fryer to 350F (176C), or medium heat on a pot of oil on the stove.

Create rice balls or oval patties with the rice mix. (Oil your hands so they don't stick to your hands)

Deep fry them for 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Set aside to cool.

Crispy Rice Balls

Combine the sugar and the hot water first to melt it evenly into the water.

Then add the remainder of the ingredients and put it in the fridge to cool

Nuoc Cham Dressing

Break up the rice balls and som moo and put into a bowl

Add in the toppings and dressing and mix well

Serve with lettuce leaves

Eat with a spoon or wrapped in lettuce :)

Putting the Salad Together

A taste and textural senastion, this amazing rice salad from Laos is one of the highlights of South East Asian Cuisine. Wonderful crisp and flavoursome rice creates a base for fresh herbaceous elements alongside the sour fermented sausage &#039;Nam&#039;. A triumph!

Laotian Nam Khao (Crispy Rice Salad)

Jasmine rice

tbsp Thai red curry paste

tsp ginger ((minced))

garlic

shallot ((finely chopped))

kaffir lime leaves ((very finely chopped))

tbsp fish sauce

½ tsp white pepper

brown sugar

tbsp corn starch ((cornflour))

Canola oil ((for deep frying))

tbsp sugar

tbsp rice vinegar

garlic ((very finely chopped))

stem cilantro ((no leaves

Thai chilli ((finely sliced))

sausage

mint ((roughly chopped))

cilantro ((roughly chopped))

Thai Basil ((holy basil) (roughly chopped))

shallots

tbsp shallots

spring onions ((scallions)(finely sliced))

Thai chilles ((finely sliced) (optional))

Lettuce leaves ((for wrapping Nam Khao) (optional))

Cooking and cooling the rice

Cook the rice until done. Remove from the heat and spread into a layer on a sheet pan (loosely covered with paper towels) to cool and dry a little. (about 2 hours)Meanwhile, prepare all the other ingredients, ready to assemble.

Seasoning the rice

When the rice is cooled, in a bowl, mix together all the other rice ball ingredients with the rice (except the oil).

Shaping the rice balls

Wet your hands in a little water and then create small balls (about 2-inches) with the rice mix. Arrange on a plate while you repeat the process to use up all the mix. Refrigerate until needed.

Frying the rice balls

In a medium saucepan or fryer heat the oil (about 3-inches for a pan) until hot (around 160ºC / 320ºF) – a cube of bread should sink then gently rice to the surface bubble when added. If the oil is too hot, remove from the heat and cool.Gently add about 5-6 balls into the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes each until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels while you fry the rest in batches.

To make the rice balls

Combine the dressing ingredients

Combine all the ingredients (except water) then pour in the freshly boiled water and whisk. Leave to cool completely.

To make the dressing

Breaking up the rice balls

Using your hands, break up the cooled rice balls into rustic pieces into a large salad bowl.

Making the salad

Toss together the rice pieces with all the other salad ingredients. Pour over a little dressing and mix well.

Arranging the salad

Anyrecommedationsforsausagesubstitute?IwenttotwodifferentAsiangrocerystoresandcouldn’tfindit.Iwaslookingforwardtotryingit,butwillhavetomakeduewithsomethingelse.Thankyou
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Thank you for this recipe. I have made a couple of versions and found them tedious although delicious. But the flavour profile in this version is superior. The great game changer here was the realisation the other recipes  had you making the red curry paste. The use of a pre-made red curry paste saves an hour on a already slightly lengthy prep. The result is I now feel I can make this a little more often and the friends I shared this with are amazed. I told them the only way to describe this dish, as none had ever heard of it, was that it was a Party in Your Mouth. 
Thanks again. Greg

Don't get me wrong, this recipe ended up being great, however, there was extreme frustration with creating the rice balls which greatly delayed my dinner plans. Everything kept falling apart. I'm used to making arancini and sushi and this was a whole nother thing. What finally worked for me was to use a 2.5" round cutter as a mold and forcefully packing the rice. Refridgerating defintely is key and to hasten it, I put the tray in the freezer for 10 mins.

This sounds great - the shrimp sounds like a splendid idea too. You could make it without either and it would still be great. If you do manage to try it again without a pescatarian present, the nam sausage takes it to another level! Lastly, I'm sure you could use rice flour instead of cornstarch too. 

Leftovers are even better! It's uncommon for me to have any though as I'm extremely greedy. I ate this at a Lao restaurant not too long ago and showed the Lao lady my recipe. She suggested 3 times the amount of chillies, which I might try one day. Their version was pure FIRE!!

Thanks so much for your comment and glad you enjoyed so much.

I wasn't able to use the sausage as one eater is pescetarian. I served it with garlic and lime sauteed shrimp instead which went OK. I bet fried dried baby shrimp would have been really good. I really liked the Nuoc cham with the boiling water step. I think this helped to get the heat from the peppers (and garlic) incorporated into the sauce to become an underlying element. Not to mention the all-important cilantro stems! I used white sugar because I didn't have light brown, it was fine. The serving suggestion was beautiful, a big plate with fresh lettuce leaves, mint sprigs, cucumber slices, and lime wedges with a small bowl of dressing in the middle. I used red and green chilis throughout for added color. When making the balls, I was a little worried, I tried to make them golf ball sized to start but they didn't stick so well, so I used my whole hand to cup a baseball/snowball sized ball - it seemed to hold better (which is more in line with your 2" recommendation) - cooling them in the fridge also solidified them quite a bit. I wonder if glutinous rice powder instead of corn starch might help bind things more? I was able to fry the balls well enough with only about an inch to an inch in a half of canola oil - I didn't have enough for 3" - it seemed to expand once it reached temperature anyway. We had the leftovers this morning and it may have been even better (though no serving platter)! ... I think this recipe is enough for 3-4 people as a main course, or more if only an appetizer.

Amazing! Had something similar in a restaurant recently and have been wanting to make at home. It came out great, we couldn't believe it - this recipe is a real keeper :)

Hi Lee!
This is one of the tastiest meals ever! I made it at the weekend and everyone loved it. I did manage to find the sausage too at my local Asian supermarket in Chinatown (SF). it was so good, so thank you for the recipe.
Ben

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