sausage party
Instead of serving the sausages from SapSap in the usual ways, Chef Deth whipped up some khao piek sen, the udon-like noodles that can only be made from scratch by hand, a comfort food for almost all Lao people. The kaffir-lime Sap Sap sticks were sliced into the soup giving it a spicy kick while the Lao-style bratwurst and sai gok were served on their own. Eaten side by side, the major difference between these two was texture. The sai gok was stuffed with visibly bigger pieces of meat and sticky rice, and its sour flavor was pretty close to som moo, whereas the filling for the brat was much more minced and dense, held together in a thicker, sturdier German-style casing, which blisters very well should you grill or broil it.
Ma Der's pork sai oua was well-seasoned with lemongrass and pepper, but not too overpowering of either spices, and the marbling of fat inside helped keep it juicy during grilling (they claim theirs has the perfect fat-to-meat ratio). This complimented well with the som pak and sliced chillies - perhaps Chef Deth's take on sausage and saurkraut? For a second option was Laogu. If you've ever had ragu, then you already know this dish is the same tomato stew just with Lao flavors, one-upped here thanks to sai oua.