Lao cuisine

Common card · No. 337560

Lao cuisine or Laotian cuisine (Lao: ອາຫານລາວ, pronounced [ʔàː.hǎːn láːw], RTGS: ahan lao) is the national cuisine of Laos. The staple food of the Lao is sticky rice (Lao: ເຂົ້າໜຽວ, khao niao, [kʰȁw nǐaw]). Laos has the highest sticky rice consumption per capita in the world with an average of 171 kilograms (377 lb) of sticky rice consumed annually per person. Sticky rice is deeply ingrained in the culture, religious tradition, and national identity of Laos. It is a common belief within the Lao community that no matter where they are in the world, sticky rice will always be the glue that holds the Lao communities together, connecting them to their culture and to Laos. Affinity for sticky rice is considered the essence of what it means to be Lao. Often the Lao will refer to themselves as luk khao niao (Lao: ລູກເຂົ້າໜຽວ, [lùːk kʰȁw nǐaw]), which can be translated as 'children or descendants of sticky rice'. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has described Laos as a "collector...

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