Morning Glory

Words and Images by Anita Preston / Evensong Film

Behind the main street in Luang Prabang lies a small network of alleyways bustling with activity from sunrise each morning. Here villagers with their garden bounty and people from local ethnic groups flock to sell their produce at the Talat Sao morning market. Luang Prabang has one of the best markets in Asia for fresh produce. In terms of variety, it has over 110 species of plants for sale during the year.

Many plants are also sources of both sustenance and health and contribute to Laos’ long history and knowledge of botanical remedies. The morning market is so diverse because people bring produce from their gardens or that they have foraged themselves from the jungle. Carts are pushed, buckets are carried, and baskets are gathered and filled to the brim with dark green leafy plants and vividly colored spiky, strange fruit to be set out and displayed on tables, mats, and blankets in eye-catching displays.

Due to the climate and shade in the forests and jungles, funguses thrive in Laos. Fifty-four species of mushrooms have been counted at the morning market including forty-nine wild varieties, including oyster, straw, shitake, and even chanterelles. At the end of the rainy season, mushrooms that look like they are carved from wood or are colored blue are spread out. Some of these species of mushrooms have yet to be identified and classified.

Lao food does not resemble the cuisine of its neighbors. What sets Lao cuisine apart is its reliance on fresh herbs to flavor food. Often used to impart an element of bitterness or sourness, they help to vary the palate. Many of the herbs on offer are only seen and used in Luang Prabang. Vines with trailing tendrils and a type of ivy leaf, tiny pea-sized eggplants, and spicy wood are used in the local dish Aw Lam, a great all-in-one stew encompassing rare ingredients special to Luang Prabang. Dark green yanang leaves come from the moonseed family. They impart a perfumed element and rich deep green color to the traditional bamboo shoot soup served daily in many homes. Rice paddy herbs, three different types of basil, Acacia fronds, betel leaves, and sawtooth coriander make the more familiar dill and cilantro look positively mundane.

The morning market has eighty-six varieties of greens to choose from. The essentials are phak nam (watercress) and phak bong (morning glory), a type of water spinach delicious when stir-fried with garlic. Our favorites are mak lin mai, the giant pod of the In- dian trumpet tree, which only flowers at night, its blooms are pollinated by bats. The purple buds of banana flowers are added to the national dish laap (a mincemeat salad) the flowers have an astringent quality and stimulate the production of mother’s milk. There are about five different varieties of eggplant from the tiny pea eggplant to the hairy eggplant used in jeo mak kheua (eggplant dip). Bundles of what resembles green hair are river weed used to make khai phaen, a savory and salty snack, it’s the Lao equivalent of nori and great with beer.

A vendor sells spring onions

Blessed to have mangos, bananas, papayas, and pineapples year-round the market has about fourteen more exotic contenders for the fruit bowl. These include the lurid orange gac fruit, the translucent pale green of star fruit, and custard apples, strange and scaly which are eaten by breaking into segments to reveal a fragrant pudding-like soft yellow flesh. Locals use anything they can grow as food sources including flowers. The bitter flowers of the trumpet vine (dok khae) are tasty when stuffed with pork and cooked in banana leaves. Produce can also be preserved to help it keep. Pickles are popular and a sour cabbage and ginger relish often accompanies grilled fish. Fruits and flowers are also sold dried for teas such as the hibiscus flower which produces a currant-like intense maroon tea, and bael fruit resembling dried orange slices.

In the Morning Market, vendors set up shop in the ground

The best time to visit the market would be after the rainy season in September when produce is most prolific and baskets are overflowing. Many types of mushrooms and various species of fresh bamboo shoots are in season. At any time of the year a stroll through the market is an interesting experience for any foodie and also offers a glimpse into local lifestyles and daily routines.

Sometimes the market spills out onto the streets

Lao Skyway has direct flights from Vientiane to Luang Prabang.