Destination
Luang Prabang
The story
Khao jee is the grilled sticky rice on a stick that Laos wakes up to: cooked sticky rice pressed hard onto a bamboo skewer, brushed with beaten egg, grilled over hot charcoal until the egg sets into a golden crust and the outer layer of rice crisps against the fire. Sold from tiny carts at every Lao morning market from 5am (the vendors are usually set up while it's still dark), the classic breakfast on the walk to work. Two skewers, a small cup of hot Lao coffee, done.
Method
Drain the soaked rice and rinse briefly. Steam in a bamboo basket (or a metal steamer lined with cheesecloth) over boiling water for 20 to 25 minutes, until the grains are translucent and the rice is tender but still slightly sticky. Season with a small pinch of salt.
Tip the steamed rice onto a clean board or into a large bowl. Cool for 5 minutes so it's warm-warm but not scalding to the touch.
With wet hands, take a small handful of sticky rice (about 60 to 80g). Press it hard onto a bamboo skewer, forming an oval or torpedo shape about 8cm long and 3cm thick. Press firmly so the rice adheres to the skewer without falling off. Repeat with the remaining rice and skewers.
Set the shaped skewers on a plate and rest 10 minutes at room temperature. This lets the rice firm up slightly and adhere better to the skewer.
Beat the eggs, fish sauce, sugar, sesame oil, white pepper and spring onion together in a small bowl.
Prepare a hot charcoal grill (or a very hot dry cast iron pan). Place the rice skewers on the grill and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning, until the outside of the rice is just starting to crisp and take colour on all sides.
Brush each skewer generously with the egg wash. Return to the grill for another 1 to 2 minutes per side, brushing with more egg wash between turns, until the egg has set into a golden crust and the outside of the rice is crackly.
Serve immediately, either straight from the grill or on a plate, with a small dish of jeow bong on the side. Hot Lao coffee to drink.
Tips
- Real glutinous sticky rice, not jasmine. The dish depends on the specific sticky-holding-together property of glutinous rice. Jasmine or long-grain rice falls off the skewer.
- Overnight soak is essential. Sticky rice needs at least 6 to 8 hours in cold water before steaming. Skipping the soak gives you undercooked, hard rice.
- Shape while warm, not hot. Just-warm rice is easier to press onto the skewer and adheres better. Very hot rice burns your hands and slides off.
- Two-stage grilling: char first, then egg. Grilling the plain rice first to crisp the outside, then brushing with egg for the second stage, is what gives you the classic khao jee finish. Egg-first burns before the rice heats through.
- Best straight from the grill. Khao jee softens as it sits. Serve within 5 minutes of finishing, or hold on the edge of the grill to keep warm.
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Steam-set rice noodle rolls filled with pork and wood-ear mushroom, served with sliced grilled sausage and fresh herbs. Luang Prabang morning market's Vietnamese-Lao crossover.
Butterflied chicken marinated in lemongrass, garlic, coriander root and fish sauce, then grilled hard over charcoal. Served with sticky rice and jeow bong.
Roasted chillies, garlic and shallots pounded to a thick paste with fried pork skin, fish sauce and a little palm sugar. Laos's national condiment, served with sticky rice and raw vegetables.
Small pairs of steamed coconut-and-sticky-rice cakes sandwiched together and wrapped in banana leaf. Luang Prabang's tea-time sweet, softly sweet and softly perfumed.
Thin strips of beef marinated in fish sauce, sugar and pepper, air-dried in the sun and finished with a quick deep-fry. Laos's sweet-savoury jerky, always with sticky rice.