PSOA (Projektsüdostasien)

Laos or  Lao People's Democratic Republic with a capital city Vientiane is a country in Southeast Asia and the only country in SEA continent that has no sea. According to Wikipidea “Laos  in Present-day traces its historic and cultural identity to the kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Khao (Kingdom of a Million Elephants Under the White Parasol), which existed for four centuries as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia.”

and here are some (Fun) about Laos:

Laos’ Official languages are Lao and French (Laos was colonized by France)

Has Total Area 237,955 km2

The Laotians are the highest consumers of sticky rice (khao niaow) in the world (Link)

Home to possibly the cheapest alcohol in the world  (Link)

Home to the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia (Link)

Laos Traditional Instrument:

One of the Traditional Instrument from Laos ist Khaen. There are actually 3 others Traditional Instrument called, Ra Nat, Kong and Phin. 

Khaen is “ a mouth organ of Lao origin whose pipes, which are usually made of bamboo, are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown “- Wikipedia. 

Khaen

Melodies of all traditional Laos music instrument

Traditional costume:

Laos traditional costume are called “Sinh” (for women) and “Salong” (for man)

Sinh

Source: Image by sasint Pixabay.com

Picture of Sinh

Laos traditional Dance: 

Phra Lak Phra Ram is one of Laos traditional Dance. Phra Lak Phra Ram is a Laotian religious dance depicting an epic tale of Buddhism.

Phra Lak Phra Ram Show

Try To Listen by PSOA  ดาวเหนือ (North star) by Laika [Thai Music]

Try To Listen by PSOA YT X Sophia Kao - BABY សុំទោស (ft. GRAVE) [Cambodian Music]

Try to Listen by PSOA 흰 눈이 오면 (When It Snows) by 1415 [South Korea]

Try to Listen by PSOA: Hanya Rindu (Just Missing You) by Andmesh [Indonesia]

Try To EAT by PSOA (Fish Amok from Cambodia)

Fish Amok is Cambodia traditional dish that has combination of fresh river fish (often snakehead) and coconut cream, steamed in banana leaves. If you love fish, let’s try this one!

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 lbs of fresh white fish sliced to bite size

For lemongrass paste

1/2 cup of mix lemongrass total

1 ½ stalks of lemongrass

4 T of galangal

2 of Rhizome root (Kra Chai)

1 t of turmeric powder or fresh turmeric

3  kaffir lime leaves

5 big cloves of garlic

3 big shallots

1/4 t tumeric

1 dried Mexico chili soak and wash cut to strips.

In a mortar pestle pound all the ingredients to paste set aside (this is lemongrass paste)

2 T fish sauce

2 T of sugar more or less up to you

2/3 cup of coconut cream or less up to you  

1 egg

1`/2 t salt

Garnish the Amok

Slek Nknor or use Chinese broccoli leaves ( khmer call katna) cut to small strips

Red chili sliced to strips

Kaffir lime leaves few strips

Steps:

In a large bowl combine lemongrass paste with fish cause,  sugar, coconut cream, egg, salt, together

Add fish and Chinese broccoli leaves (or slek Nknor and mix it well together)

Spoon the mixture of fish into a bowl, steam for 20 minutes or until the fish is cooked

Take the Amok out the steamer, garnish with kaffir lime leaves and red chili strips; drizzle with 1 T of coconut cream.

Try to EAT by PSOA (Okonomiyaki from Japan)

Okonomiyaki is street food based on cabbage mixed with flours. People say that you can find best Okonomiyaki “only” in Hiroshima and Osaka, because they are so popular for this dish. But you also can also bring it to your home with this recipe, good luck!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour (120 g)

¼ tsp salt (kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt)

¼ tsp sugar

¼ tsp baking powder

2-3 inch Nagaimo/Yamaimo (5-8 cm, 160 g, 5.6 oz)

¾ cup dashi (180 ml) (See Notes)

1 large cabbage head (1.6 lb or 740 g)

½ lb sliced pork belly (227 g) (See Notes)

4 large eggs

½ cup Tenkasu/Agedama (tempura scraps) (8 Tbsp)

¼ cup pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga) (4 Tbsp)

neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc)

Okonomiyaki Sauce

1 ½ Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

4 Tbsp ketchup

3 ½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Toppings

Okonomi sauce

Japanese mayonnaise

Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)

Aonori (dried green seaweed)

Green onions/scallions

pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga)

INSTRUCTIONS

Gather all the ingredients.

Prepare Okonomiyaki Batter

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. sugar, and ¼ tsp. baking powder and mix all together.

Peel and grate nagaimo in a small bowl. It can get itchy, so work quickly and rinse your hand right after.  Nagaimo is very slimy and slippery, so make sure you have a good grip if you wear a glove.

Add the grated nagaimo and dashi in the bowl.

Mix all together till combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour

Make Okonomiyaki Sauce

Gather all the ingredients for Okonomiyaki Sauce.

To make homemade Okonomiyaki Sauce, combine 1 ½ Tbsp. sugar, 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce, 4 Tbsp. ketchup, and 3 ½ Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Mix all together until sugar is completely dissolved.

Cook Okonomiyaki

Remove the core of the cabbage and mince it. Set aside to let the moisture evaporate so it won’t dilute the batter.

Cut the pork belly slices in half and set aside.

Take out the batter from the refrigerator and add 4 large eggs, ½ cup (8 Tbsp.) tempura scraps (Tenkasu/Agedama), and ¼ cup (4 Tbsp.) pickled red ginger (Kizami Beni Shoga)

Add chopped cabbage to the batter 1/3 at a time. Mix well before adding the rest.

In a large pan, heat vegetable oil on medium heat. When the frying pan is hot (400F/200C), spread the batter in a circle on the pan. We like thicker okonomiyaki (final thickness is ¾ inches (2 cm)). If you’re new to making okonomiyaki, make a smaller and thinner size so it’s easier to flip.

Place 2-3 sliced pork belly on top of Okonomiyaki and cook covered for 5 minutes.

When the bottom side is nicely browned, flip over.

Gently press the okonomiyaki to fix the shape and keep it together. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.

Flip over one last time and cook uncovered for 2 minutes. If you’re going to cook next batch, transfer to a plate.

Serving & Preserving

Here are the ingredients for toppings.  Apply okonomiyaki sauce with brush, add Japanese mayonnaise in zigzagging lines (optional), and sprinkle dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi). You can also put dried green seaweed (aonori), chopped green onions, and pickled red ginger on top for garnish. Please see the video for this step.

If you have a Japanese griddle with a lid (We call it “Hot Plate”), you can cook several okonomiyaki at once! Otherwise, I recommend cooking two okonomiyaki (each in one frying pan) at a time.

Okonomiyaki freezes well. Once it cools down (no sauce or toppings), wrap each okonomiyaki in aluminum foil and put it in a freezer bag. When you want to eat it, defrost first and put it in a toaster oven or oven to heat it up. It's a great quick meal!

RECIPE NOTES Dashi: If you don't have homemade dashi, you can use 3/4 cup water + 1 tsp. granulated dashi (dashi powder).

Sliced Pork Belly: You can thinly slice the pork belly if your pork belly is a slab. You can use shrimp, squid, or other ingredients instead.

Try To EAT by PSOA ( Nasi Kerabu from Malaysia)

Nasi Kerabu (Blue Rice) is one of delicious and unique food from Malaysia that you also need to try. The blue color comes from bunga telang (blue/butterfly pea flower). This dish also can be vegan or vegetarian, because the main point here is actually the rice, so it is optional for you if you want to add any meat on it or not, which is really flexible for us to cook or eat. So let’s try:

INGREDIENTS

1 salted egg

6 fish crackers

½ cup (5g) daun kesum/polygonum/Vietnamese mint

½ cup (5g) mint leaves

6 long beans (75g)

3 oz (85g) bean sprouts, trimmed

Fragrant Blue Rice

1 cup rice (1 1/3 rice cooker cup/200g), rinsed and drained

1 lemongrass, crushed

3 kaffir lime leaves

10 dried bunga telang (blue/butterfly pea flower)

1¼ cup (300ml) warm water

Kerisik

Ikan (Coconut Fish Flakes) (optional)

½ cup (50g) grated coconut

4 oz (113g) snapper fillet

½ tsp salt (divided)

¼ tsp ground pepper

Kuah (soup)

Tumis (Spiced Sauce)

3 red chilies

1 inch (30g) ginger

1 clove garlic

6 shallots

1 lemongrass, slice bottom third into rings

1 tbsp vegetable oil

½ cup (120ml) coconut milk

1 piece asam gelugor or 2 tsp lime juice

1 tsp fish sauce

Salt to taste

Sugar to taste

Crispy Skin Turmeric Salmon (Optional)

2 pieces salmon (about 4 oz/113g each)

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Steps

Boil salted egg over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove and when cool enough to handle, cut salted egg into half. Scoop out the two salted egg halves with a spoon.

Microwave fish crackers on high for 1 minute. Remove and set aside.

Fragrant Blue Rice

Wash and drain rice in rice cooker insert for 4 to 5 times. Add lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.

Soak bunga telang (blue/butterfly pea flower) in warm water for 15 minutes. Strain blue pea flower water over rice.

Transfer rice cooker insert to the rice cooker. Press the start button to cook rice.

Kerisik Ikan (Coconut Fish Flakes)

Toast (without oil) grated coconut in a non-stick fry pan, stirring constantly over low heat until the general distribution of the coconut is golden brown. This should take about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

In the same fry pan, cook snapper fillet with ¼ teaspoon salt and ground pepper. Break up the fish with a spatula. This should take about 10 minutes.

Grind and pound toasted coconut in a circular motion using a mortar and pestle to release its oil and fragrance. Add fish flakes and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and continue to grind and pound until fine and well mixed.

Kuah Tumis (Spiced Sauce)

Blend red chilies, ginger, garlic, shallots, and lemongrass with 2 tablespoons of water into a paste.

Heat vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Stir fry spice paste until fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in coconut milk. Add asam gelugor, fish sauce, salt, and sugar. Stir fry until sauce has thicken, another 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

Crispy Skin Turmeric Salmon

Prepare salmon as per this recipe --> Crispy Skin Turmeric Salmon.

Putting It Together

Line a serving dish with banana leaf (optional). Place a bowl of fragrant blue rice in the middle.

Then arrange prepared daun kesum, mint leaves, long beans, bean sprouts, salted egg, fish crackers, kerisik ikan (coconut fish flakes), and crispy skin turmeric salmon around the rice.

Top rice with 1 to 2 tablespoons of kuah tumis (spice sauce).

Try To EAT by PSOA (Bun Bo Nam Bo from Vietnam)

Bun Bo Nam Bo or Bun Bo Xao is Beef Rice-Noodle Salad with peanut on it. This dish is so popular in Hanoi as a street food. We know that we need to recommend this to you guys because it is just super delicious to try!

Here is the recipe guys:

Ingredients (4-6 servings)

500g beef (rumpsteak)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 mincedgarlic tbsp

1 tbsp minced lemongrass

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp seasoning powder (or sugar)

3 tbsp vegetable oil (1 tbsp to marinate beef, 2 tbsp to stir-fry)

1 small onion, sliced ​​(optional)

1kg of fresh or 500g dried vermicelli rice

pickled daikon and carrots (do chua)

fried shallot

crushed peanuts

Fresh vegetables of your choice: coriander, mint, perilla leaves, lettuce, bean sprouts, chopped cucumber etc.

Steps

In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, oyster sauce, half the minced garlic, minced lemongrass, salt, pepper, chicken stock and 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Mix well and let marinate for at least 15 minutes.

In a heated wok, add 2 tbsp vegetable oil and the rest of the minced garlic and sauté till fragrant. Then add the marinated beef and stir-fry on high heat until the beef is no longer pink.

Cook the rice vermicelli following the package instructions.

To assemble the fish, place some fresh greens in the bowl, then a handful of rice vermicelli. Top with the stir-fried beef, pickled daikon and carrots (do chua), fried shallot and crushed peanuts. Pour some light dipping fish sauce over the noodle (like salad dressings). Stir well and serve.

 Try to Eat by PSOA (Pad Thai from Thailand)

Pad Thai is a delicious stir-fried rice noodles from Thailand that commonly to be served as street food. Pad Thai contains eggs, vegetables and tofu in a sauce of tamarind, fish, dried shrimp, garlic, red chilli pepper and sugar, but even so there is a vegetarian version that could substitute soy sauce for fish sauce, and omit the shrimp. So here it is the recipe:

Ingredients

150 g flat rice noodles

1 fresh bird's-eye chilli

1 fresh yellow chilli

2 limes

groundnut oil

2 red shallots

½ a bunch each of Chinese chives, Thai basil, Thai mint , (45g total)

140 g silken tofu

4 large raw peeled Tiger prawns , from sustainable sources

25 g dried shrimps , from sustainable sources

50 g shelled unsalted peanuts

1 pinch of dried chilli flakes

1 tablespoon jarred shredded sweet radish

1 large free-range egg

60 g beansprouts , (ready to eat)

        TAMARIND SAUCE

25 g palm sugar

2 tablespoons tamarind paste

fish sauce 

white wine vinegar

STEPS: 

Cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, make the tamarind sauce. Coarsely grate the palm sugar into a bowl, add the tamarind paste, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, a dash of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of boiling water and mix well so the sugar dissolves. Taste, and adjust the flavours if needed – you’re looking for sweet, sour and slightly salty.

Halve, deseed and finely slice the chillies, then place in a bowl with the juice from 1 lime to make a quick pickle.

Drain the noodles and toss in a little oil.

Peel and roughly chop the shallots, then trim and finely slice the chives. Pick and roughly chop most of the basil and mint leaves.

Slice the tofu into rough 1cm chunks. Run the tip of a knife down the back of each prawn and pull out the vein, meaning they’ll butterfly as they cook. Rinse the dried shrimps under cold running water, then pat dry with kitchen paper.

Place a large wok on a medium heat with a splash of oil, then add the dried shrimps, peanuts and chilli flakes. Toss for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden.

Take the pan off the heat, transfer half the mixture to a pestle and mortar and lightly crush, keeping to one side. Return the pan to a medium-high heat with another splash of oil, adding the shallots to the mix. Fry for 2 minutes, or until turning golden.

Toss in the prawns, chives, chopped herbs and shredded radish, then cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, or until the prawns are almost cooked through.

Beat and add the egg, cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then fold through and toss in the tofu, noodles, beansprouts and tamarind sauce until well combined.

Divide the pad Thai between bowls, sprinkle over the crushed nut mixture from the mortar and pick over the remaining mint and basil leaves. Serve with the quick pickled chillies and lime wedges for squeezing over. Delicious!

Try To Eat by PSOA (Kimchi from Korea)

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish consisting of pickled vegetables and mainly as side dishes for every kind of meal. Koreans believe Kimchi is good for our health, and most importantly to improve our digestion and immunity.

so here is the recipe, have fun!

Ingredients:

Makes about 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of Kimchi For salting cabbage:

6 pounds (about 2.7 kg) napa cabbage

½ cup Kosher salt (2.5 ounces: 72 grams)

For making porridge:

2 cups water

2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (brown or white sugar)

Vegetables:

2 cups radish matchsticks

1 cup carrot matchsticks

7 to 8 green onions, chopped

1 cup chopped Asian chives (buchu), optional (substitute with 3 green onions, chopped)

1 cup water dropwort (minari), optional

Seasonings and spices:

½ cup garlic cloves (24 garlic cloves), minced

2 teaspoon ginger, minced

1 medium onion, minced

½ cup fish sauce

¼ cup fermented salted shrimp (saeujeot) with the salty brine, chopped

2 cups hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)

Directions

Prepare and salt the cabbage:

If the cabbage cores stick out too much, trim them off.

To split a cabbage in half without shredding the densely packed leaves inside, first cut a short slit in the base of the cabbage, enough to get a grip on either half, and then gently pull the halves apart so the cabbage splits open.

Cut a slit through the core of each half, 2 inches above the stem. You want the cabbage leaves to be loose but still attached to the core.

Dunk the halves in a large basin of water to get them wet. Sprinkle the salt between the leaves by lifting up every leaf and getting salt in there. Use more salt closer to the stems, where the leaves are thicker.

Let the cabbages rest for 2 hours. Turn over every 30 minutes, so they get well salted. From time to time you can ladle some of the salty water from the bottom of the basin over top of the cabbages if you want to.

After 2 hours, wash the cabbage halves a few times under cold running water. Giving them a good washing, to remove the salt and any dirt. As you wash, split the halves into quarters along the slits you cut into earlier. Cut off the cores, and put them in a strainer over a basin so they can drain well.

While the cabbage is salting for 2 hours, and in between the times you’re turning it over, you can make the porridge:

Combine the water and the sweet rice flour in a small pot. Mix well with a wooden spoon and let it cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it starts to bubble. Add the sugar and cook 1 more minute, stirring. Remove from the heat and let it cool off completely.

Pour cooled porridge into a large mixing bowl. Add garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, fermented salted shrimp, and hot pepper flakes. Mix well with the wooden spoon until the mixture turns into a thin paste.

Add the radish, carrot, and green onion, plus the Asian chives (or more green onions) and the water dropwort if you’re using them. Mix well.

Make kimchi:

Spread some kimchi paste on each cabbage leaf. When every leaf in a quarter is covered with paste, wrap it around itself into a small packet, and put into your jar, plastic container, or onggi.

Eat right away, or let it sit for a few days to ferment.

On fermentation:

The kimchi will start fermenting a day or two at room temperature, depending on the temperature and humidity of your room. The warmer and more humid it is, the faster the kimchi will ferment. Once it starts to ferment it will smell and taste sour, and pressing on the top of the kimchi with a spoon will release bubbles from beneath.

Once it starts to fermented, store in the refrigerator to use as needed. This slows down the fermentation process, which will make the kimchi more and more sour as time goes on.

Try to EAT by PSOA ( Gado- Gado from Indonesia)

Gado-gado is basically steamed/fresh/short-boiled vegetables that mixed with peanut sauce. It is one of the traditional food base in Jogjakarta, one of cultural oriented city in Central Java, Indonesia. Since in Passau, we have a lot of vegan lovers, this is one of our favorite Indonesian food that you vegan need to try! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Cabbage

Long beans

Kale

Bean sprouts

Tempe

Tofu

Potato

Sweet corn

100 g of peanuts

3 red curly chilies

Water

Lime 

Brown sugar

How to make (Steps):

Boil all vegetables that have been cut into pieces.

Fry the beans until cooked.

Blend together with chili and garlic.

Stir the mixture of nuts with water and lime and brown sugar.