Recipe byThe ZestyPlate Kitchen
A lively Lao salad of crispy coconut rice balls broken up and tossed with sour pork sausage, herbs, lime and peanuts. Crunchy, tangy and full of life.
Naem khao is a Lao crispy rice salad with a brilliant range of textures. Coconut-flecked rice is shaped into balls, deep-fried until golden, then broken up and tossed with tangy fermented pork, lime, peanuts and a generous handful of herbs. Scoop it into lettuce leaves and the crunch against the sour sausage and fresh mint is hard to stop eating.
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Prep 30 min
Cook 25 min
Total 55 min
Medium
Scale:
- 3 Cups Jasmine Rice
- 1 Coconut
- Splash Oil
- 2 cups Sour Pork Sausage
- 2 diced Pickled Garlics
- Juice of 1 Lime
- 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 sliced Onion
- 1 sliced Shallots
- 3 finely chopped Spring Onions
- 1 cup Cilantro
- 1/2 cup Hot Mint
- 1/2 cup Mint
- 1/4 cup Roasted Peanut
- To serve Vegetables
- To serve Lettuce
Preparation
- Thinly slice the onion and shallots and soak in an ice-water bath while you prepare the rest.
- Grate the coconut into a large bowl, add the rice, and mix together with your hands.
- Roll the mixture into 2-inch rice ball croquettes.
- Heat the oil in a pot or pan. Beat two eggs in a large bowl, dip the rice balls into the egg, then drop into the hot oil.
- Deep-fry until dark amber, crispy and golden, then remove and drain on paper towel.
- Once cooled, break the rice balls apart into a large bowl.
- Drain the onion and shallots. Tear the pork sausage into small pieces (the traditional method, though a knife works too).
- Add the onion, shallots, sour pork sausage, pickled garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, cilantro, hot mint and regular mint to the bowl.
- Top with peanuts and serve with lettuce, dried chilli and other fresh vegetables.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Fry the rice balls until they are deeply golden and properly crisp; that crunch is the whole point of the dish.
- When you break them up, aim for bite-sized clusters rather than crumbs so the texture survives.
- A soak in iced water tames the bite of the raw onion and shallot.
- Dress and toss the salad at the last moment so the fried rice stays crunchy.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is naem, also called som moo, a fermented Southeast Asian pork with a distinct tang. You will find it at Thai or Lao grocers, and its sourness drives the whole dish.
Fry the balls until they are very crisp, and hold off dressing the salad until just before serving so the lime and fish sauce don't soften the rice.
You can use cooked minced pork with extra lime for tang, though it loses some authenticity. That fermented note is really part of what makes the dish.
Usually by hand, scooped into lettuce or cabbage leaves, with extra herbs and raw vegetables on the side.
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