This may sound like a macabre title for blog post, but anybody who’s been to a Buddhist funeral in Southeast Asia knows the events take a decidedly different form here. For starters, funerals in this part of the world are more like family reunions, and are generally festive, rather than dour in atmosphere. They can often last several days, depending on the family’s budget. And most importantly, like much of life in Southeast Asia, they tend to revolve around food.

I learned this firsthand while walking the streets of Luang Prabang, in northern Laos. I was searching for images to illustrate an article on Lao food, when I came across a funeral entering its fifth day. A man of 82 had died, and directly in front of the house in which he grew up, his relatives and people who knew him had erected a tent and were busy cooking.

It truly was a communal affair, at least among the women, and everybody pitched in, including neighbours, neighbours’ relatives visiting from America, and sometimes people who just happened to walk by:

Those not able to help in the more physical parts of preparation simply dished out the final product:

in this case, a thick coconut curry called khua kai.

When a meal, usually consisting of four different dishes, sides of fresh herbs and veggies, and sticky rice, was completed, the dishes were put on trays then laid out to be consumed:

Between meals everybody snacked on miang laao:

A variety of toppings ranging from pork crackling to garlic that are put in a leaf, topped with a salty/sour sauce, and popped in the mouth.

Among the dishes made in the three days I visited the funeral were an herb-filled omelet, a laap-like pork dish, and because it was in season, several dishes revolving around bamboo, including a clear soup (pictured at the top of this post), and a delicious stir-fry of crispy bamboo, egg and ground pork:

Below is the recipe for saem, an eggplant and pork dish that I was able to watch being made from beginning to end. I was told by the people making it that the dish can only be found in Luang Prabang, and is among a repertoire of dishes often served at funerals and other occasions.

I’ve failed to include amounts here simply because the women themselves didn’t measure anything; like most recipes in this part of the world the cooking was done entirely by taste, feel and experience. The dish is pictured at the top of this post at about 4 o’clock, and below.

Saem: Pork and eggplant ’salad’

Making saem

-Boiled pork liver and belly, sliced thinly
-Lao fish sauce (paa daek)
-Rice cakes (khao khop)
-Young, round purple eggplants (ideally w/out seeds), boiled until soft and peeled
-Ground pork, boiled
-Salt, MSG, dried chili powder
-Green onion and cilantro, sliced finely
-Sides: fresh mint, watercress, leafy pak boong, long beans, chilies and small purple eggplants.

Slicing pork liver for saem

1. Simmer fish sauce with some of the broth left over from boiling the pork liver and belly until reduced and fragrant. Strain and reserve.
2. Pound rice cakes in mortar and pestle until very fine. Remove.
3. Pound eggplant and ground pork in mortar and pestle until well blended.
4. Season to taste with Lao fish sauce, salt, MSG and chili.
5. Add pounded rice cake powder, liver and belly. Blend well.
6. Garnish with green onion and cilantro.
7. Serve with sides and sticky rice.

Known in these parts as khao niaow, I could eat this stuff all day. In Laos that’s easier done than said. And at the moment, I’m also fortunate enough to witness the first stage in rice production:

not to mention the last:

Yes, I realize these fantastically delicious baguette sandwiches are Vietnamese/French in origin, but they’re virtually nonexistent in Thailand and are one of the things I look forward to eating when in Laos. More Things I Like About Laos to follow…

And no, it’s no isaan (northeastern Thailand). A pretty easy challenge for most of you, I imagine…
Sorry blogs have been slow in coming, but I’m on the road at the moment and have little time to spend at the computer. When I’m a bit more stationary, I’ll be blogging on some of the interesting stuff I’ve seen and eaten in this country. In the meantime, be sure to check out the feature I’ve done on backpacker food at the Lonely Planet website.

Nang Loeng Market, located just north of Banglamphu, off Th Nakhorn Sawan, is among the city’s oldest continuously operating markets. The recipient of a recently-finished makeover culminating in a fresh coat of paint, new tiles and a rather garish sign, Nang Loeng Market is hardly looking its 100+ years. However, in all honesty, the label ‘market’ is a bit of misnomer here. The Nang Loeng of today resembles something more of a food court than a fresh market, and the main hall is dominated not by piles of greens or still-flapping fish, but rather by stalls selling prepared dishes:

For larger version of this image, go here. 

At lunch the market is packed with hungry employees from the surrounding area; come at virtually any other time and you’re likely to have the entire place to yourself.

My favourite stall at Nang Loeng, and among the most popular, is a curry vendor called Ratana:

I’ve blogged on this stall previously, and on every consecutive visit, seem to find some unusual dish. My most recent meal revealed a bizarre soup combining pork leg and peanuts. I continue to find their slightly dry green curry (made with a spicy, but not hot-spicy, homemade curry paste) among the most delicious in town.

At virtually every stall other than Ratana, Nang Loeng epitomises old-school/central Thai flava, meaning you’ll find two things in abundance: noodles and sugar. The former was present in a bowl of kuaytiaw khae, fishball noodles, from the stall pictured at the top of this post:

Despite the vendor’s experience (’couple decades’, I was told) and confidence-inspiring old-school stall, it turned out to be a pretty normal bowl of noodles with handmade, although underwhelming fishballs.

Sugar and noodles were present in just about everything else I consumed. They reached an almost harmonious junction in an old-school Thai dish called mee kathi:

Thin rice noodles (coloured yellow with food colouring, ‘To make them look more delicious,’ according to the vendor) topped with tofu, dried shrimp and a thick coconut milk-mushroom-ground pork dressing. In theory a savoury dish, but boasting enough sweetness to border on dessert, for me at least. The dish is what I imagine much of Thai food, in particular that of Bangkok and the surrounding provinces, used to taste like in the not-so-distant past. Not surprisingly, the vendor, who looked at least 70, claims to have been making this dish since she was a child. She told me that she used to use crab meat, but finds it too expensive now.

Another dish that combined sweet flavours and noodles was the hard to find kuaytiaw kaeng, ‘curry noodles’:

This the beef version, which also included bits of tofu and a hard-boiled egg and a thick curry broth not unlike the sweet, peanuty dipping sauce that accompanies satay.

Not surprisingly, given the emphasis on the sweet, Nang Loeng is also known for its Thai desserts, such as these photogenic sticky rice with various toppings:

And as if this wasn’t enough to rot your teeth, Nang Loeng is also something of a depot for sugarcane juice:

The fresh stalks are squeezed of their juice in a dark room just outside the market, before being bottled and loaded into carts to be sold on the streets of Bangkok.

Being a fan of salty, rather than sweet flavours, I must admit that I like Nang Loeng more for its old-school atmosphere:

than its food, but it’s still worth a visit if you’re never been, or at not least since the renovation.

For a slideshow of the complete photoset of images, go here. For my previous writeup of the market, including a couple interesting vendors I didn’t mention above, go here. And for additional blogger insights into Nang Loeng, go here and if you’re willing to search around a bit, here.

Nang Loeng Market (Google Maps link)
Th Nakhorn Sawan
10am-2pm, Mon-Fri