Nam Khao (Crispy Rice Salad)
Nam khao is a Laotian salad with roots in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. The Thai influence stem from the ingredients used to make the crispy rice balls, dressing, and toasted rice powder. The Vietnamese influence comes from the salad toppings such as the mint, basil, and cilantro. This salad has just about every flavor and texture you can imagine; all perfectly balanced. Nam khao is definitely an advanced recipe; with the crispy rice balls taking the brunt of the endless prep work to it’s completion. It will be all worth it in the end. So puff, puff, puff; don’t bother passing; puff a few more times; take a deep breath, and get ready to cook.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- sticky rice bamboo steamer
- cookie dropper scooper
Ingredients
Crispy Rice
- 3 cups glutenous rice
- 3 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 4 lime leaves finely chopped
- 4 tsp fish sauce
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1 large egg beaten
- vegetable oil for frying
- spinach/arugula mix
Nuac Chom Dressing
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 lime juiced
- 1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 red Thai chili finely chopped
Salad Toppings
- som moo (Laotian fermented sausage)
- mint
- basil
- cilantro
- toasted peanuts
- toasted rice powder
- green onions
Instructions
- Soak the rice for a minimum of 4 hours.
- Place the rice in a bamboo steamer basket in a pot of boiling water. Place a cover over the top.
- Steam the rice for 30 minutes, flipping half way through the cooking process.
- Mix in the rest of the crispy rice ingredients.
- Heat up 2” of cooking oil in a pot over medium high heat. Using a cookie dropper scoop, drop round balls of the rice into the oil, making sure to not overcrowd the pot. Fry the rice balls for 3-4 minutes.
- Drain the grease from the rice balls on paper towels.
- Mix together all of the dressing ingredients.
- Prep all of the other topping ingredients.
- Break up the crispy rice balls. Toss them with the som moo, mint, basil, cilantro, toasted peanuts, green onions, and the dressing.
- Place the spinach/arugula mix in the bottom of a bowl.
- Place the crispy rice salad on top of the spinach/arugula. Dust the top with toasted rice powder.
