Jeow si khaiPound one fresh chili, one clove of garlic and a pinch of salt to a paste.įinely chop 2 or 3 stalks of lemongrass and then pound them in until softened. I make this and then fold it into a fresh tomato sauce for pasta. Remove the stalks from the chilies and peel the garlic and shallots. Such a simple jeow befits what seems to have been a simple man.ġ2 small fresh green chilies (or less if you can’t take the heat) After the revolution in 1975, he and his wife, Queen Khamponi, and Crown Prince Vong Savang were all sent to “re-education” camps in the northeast of Laos where after many years they finally died from malnutrition and neglect. Unlike Emperor Bo Dai of Vietnam who lived out his days in Paris, or King Sihanouk of Cambodia who never really lost power, the politically naïve King Savang Vatthana was not so fortunate. It's a book that really packed a punch when published.Natacha du Pont de Bie in “Ant Egg Soup”, her book about traveling through Laos and learning about Lao food, writes that 'Bo’s jeow” was also the former King of Laos favorite jeow. McCoy was so controversial the CIA tried to have it banned. The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia by Alfred W. Voices from the Plain of Jars: Life under an Air War compiled, with an introduction and preface by Fred Branfman, is written by a former volunteer in the '60s and addresses the secret war that killed so many. It is a tragic tale of cultural misunderstanding and disconnection. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman portrays the struggle between a Hmong refugee family and their American doctors over the care of their epileptic daughter.

One Foot in Laos by Dervla Murphy is a quirky piece of travel literature and a good light read. Another Quiet American by Brett Dakin is a subjective look at the expatriate community in Vientiane at the start of this century and lays out the author's struggles with the issues of poverty. It chronicles the author's adventures and describes the people she meets, the places she visits and, of course, the food she eats. Ant Egg Soup by Natacha du Pont de Bie is a foodie's tour of the country. A Short History of Laos: The Land in Between, by Grant Evans, published in 2002, is a good introduction to Lao history.

Written before Indochina was plunged into Cold War conflict, it takes a look at the end of French rule and is both insightful (although very opinionated) and entertaining. One of the most interesting books about Laos (and indeed Vietnam and Cambodia) is A Dragon Apparent by the celebrated English travel writer Norman Lewis.

Ant Egg Soup by Natacha Du Pont de Bie