Lao fish Sauce, also known as Padek/Padaek, is a thick seasoned fermented sauce with bits of fish.  It  is often eaten with sticky rice and the taste is described as fishy and salty.  The thick sauce has very unique strong smell, and to some very hard to intake the smell for the first timers.

For travelers who want to try Padek,  it is safer to have Padek in Northern Laos, as the fish used in the South are known carriers of flatworms according to health investigators.  Again when travelling always take precautions when eating the local food.

“The main ingredients of padek are salt, fish and rice bran or rice husks. The addition of other ingredients depends on preference, but is based on scale. The best padek has fermented for at least six months – a year is better – and comes from the North, according to northerners. It should be made in the dry season (around April) when the danger of spoilage is less.”

Source: Continue Reading @ foodfromnorthernlaos.com