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Keng No Mai (Sai Yanang)
Keng No Mai Sai Yanang.jpg
Keng No Mai Sai Yanang
Alternative names Lao bamboo soup
Type Soup, Stew
Place of origin Laos
Main ingredients Bamboo, yanang, pork, mushrooms, pumpkin

Keng No Mai Sai Yanang (say "Gang Nor My Sy Ya-nang") is a very popular and traditional soup from Laos. It's also known as Lao bamboo soup. This delicious soup is a favorite meal in Laos and also in the northeastern part of Thailand, called Isan, where many Lao people live.

What is Keng No Mai?

Keng No Mai is a hearty soup or stew. It gets its name from its main ingredient: fresh bamboo shoots. The soup is known for its unique flavor, which comes from special leaves and other fresh ingredients.

Key Ingredients

This soup is made by cooking several tasty ingredients together. The main one is bamboo shoot. Other vegetables include different kinds of mushrooms (like oyster, straw, and wood ear mushrooms), okra, angled gourd, and pumpkin.

A very important part of Keng No Mai is the juice from yanang leaves. This juice gives the soup its special color and a unique, earthy flavor. The soup also gets its rich taste from padaek, which is a type of fermented fish sauce common in Lao cooking.

The soup is usually cooked in a broth made from pork, chicken, or beef. To make it thick and creamy, a little bit of crushed sticky rice flour is added. Sometimes, people also add extra ingredients like quail eggs, eggplant, climbing wattle (a leafy vegetable), or kajeng (also known as rice paddy herb) to make it even more flavorful.

A Royal Recipe

Did you know this soup has a royal history? A long time ago, a famous chef named Phia Sing (1898-1967) cooked for the king of Laos. He was also the king's master of ceremonies. Phia Sing wrote down many of his special recipes, including the traditional way to make Keng No Mai. These handwritten recipes were later collected and published in 1981, so everyone could learn how to make these amazing traditional dishes!

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