Mok Pa

Lao fish steamed in a banana leaf parcel with a great deal of dill, lemongrass and shallot, bound with a little sticky rice

Origin: Luang Prabang & the Middle Mekong

From the journey of Dill.

Dill is what separates Lao cooking from every other kitchen in mainland Southeast Asia. Phak si is used by the fistful in Laos, in fish dishes above all, and it appears with a confidence that surprises anyone arriving from Thailand or Vietnam, where the same herb barely features. Mok pa is where it does the most work: freshwater fish from the Mekong, pounded with shallot, chilli, lemongrass, and a whole bunch of dill, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed until the parcel is fragrant enough to find in the next room. Mok denotes the wrapping and steaming rather than the filling, and there is a family of them, with mok gai for chicken and mok khai for egg. The technique is the older half of the Lao repertoire, predating the wok: a leaf parcel on a steamer needs no metal and no oil, and it belongs to a riverine cuisine where fish was constant and cooking fat was not. A small quantity of soaked sticky rice, or of toasted rice powder, goes into the mixture and does something specific. It absorbs the liquid the fish releases so the parcel steams rather than boils, and it binds the whole into something that holds together when the leaf is opened. Without it the filling separates into fish and a puddle. The seasoning that makes it Lao rather than generally Southeast Asian is padaek, the coarse, funky, unfiltered fermented fish sauce of the Mekong, which is a thicker and stronger thing than Thai nam pla and contains pieces of fish and rice bran. Lao cooks regard the difference as fundamental. Bottled fish sauce is the practical substitute abroad and gives a cleaner, milder, less interesting result.

Ingredients

Filling

600 g firm white freshwater fish fillet, such as catfish or tilapia, in 3cm pieces
60 g dill, leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped
4 spring onions, cut into 3cm lengths
1 handful sawtooth coriander or coriander leaf

Paste

4 shallots, sliced
2 lemongrass stalks, tender core only, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves
4 red bird's eye chillies
2 tsp padaek, or 2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp salt

Binder

3 tbsp glutinous rice, soaked 2 hours and drained

To wrap

6 banana leaves, softened over a flame, plus string

Method

Pass the banana leaves briefly over a gas flame or dip them in boiling water until they turn glossy and pliable. Untreated leaf splits when folded.
Pound the shallots, lemongrass, garlic, and chillies to a coarse paste in a mortar, then work in the padaek and salt.
Pound the soaked glutinous rice separately to a rough grit and mix it into the paste. This is the binder that keeps the parcel from turning watery.
Turn the fish through the paste with your hands until every piece is coated, then fold in the dill, spring onion, and coriander.
Use all the dill. Sixty grammes looks like an unreasonable quantity of herb for six hundred of fish, and it is the correct one.
Lay two leaves in a cross, shiny side up, and pile a quarter of the mixture in the middle.
Fold the leaves over into a flat parcel, tucking the ends under, and tie it with string or pin it with a cocktail stick.
Set the parcels seam side down in a steamer over boiling water in a single layer.
Steam for thirty to thirty-five minutes. The parcel is done when it smells strongly of dill and lemongrass and the fish is opaque and flaking.
Let them stand for five minutes before opening, so the filling settles and the steam stops escaping the moment the leaf is cut.
Open at the table and eat straight from the leaf, with sticky rice.

Notes

The dill is the dish, so do not reduce it; a Lao cook would use more. Padaek is sold by Lao and Thai grocers in jars and is worth finding, since it is coarser and far stronger than bottled fish sauce; if substituting, use fish sauce plus a teaspoon of the liquid from a jar of anchovies to get some of the depth back. The soaked glutinous rice is a functional ingredient and not a filler, absorbing the liquid so the parcel steams. Banana leaves are sold frozen and need only thawing and softening; foil will work and gives none of the perfume. Freshwater fish is traditional, but any firm white fish holds up.

The Gastrographer

Name: Mok Pa
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Luang Prabang & the Middle Mekong
Ingredients: 600 g firm white freshwater fish fillet, such as catfish or tilapia, in 3cm pieces; 60 g dill, leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped; 4 shallots, sliced; 2 lemongrass stalks, tender core only, finely sliced; 4 garlic cloves; 4 red bird's eye chillies; 2 tsp padaek, or 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp salt; 3 tbsp glutinous rice, soaked 2 hours and drained; 4 spring onions, cut into 3cm lengths; 1 handful sawtooth coriander or coriander leaf; 6 banana leaves, softened over a flame, plus string

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control