The sticky, spicy fish sauce wings and the charcoal rotisserie game hen with tamarind dipping sauce have both gained a cult following.
In a stroke of genius – and a nod to Portland, Oregon's Pok Pok – they come coated in sticky, salty fish sauce, which gives the succulent meat an unexpected umami kick.
Bokeo's treehouses have running water, beds, showers and meals cooked by Laotian chefs who zipline over to your treehouse three times a day with steaming bowls of sticky rice, fish soup, laap (a cousin to steak tartare) and other exotic Laotian dishes they've concocted over the village fire.
Earlier this century, Japanese cooks began using it to make a bento, or boxed meal, with a different dish in each compartment, like steamed fish, sticky rice or fried vegetables.
We try to match their schedules by surveying in the morning, then stopping to rest and have lunch (sticky rice, canned fish, and very dry packaged biscuits that suck all the spit from your mouth) at midday.
Bun cha (pork with rice noodles), mi quang (fantastic noodle dish), happy pancakes, spring rolls, pho, beautiful steamed fish, sticky rice and egg coffee (yes, you read it correctly) were some of the highlights.
Skewered prawns, fresh vegetable curry, pad thai, spicy chicken satay, grilled fish, sticky rice and mango … and Kit Kats for dessert.
And in Japan, a baby's first solidfood feast is a celebratory event called Okuizome (first eating), a ritual in which the parents present their child with an elaborate spread -- fish, sticky rice, octopus, and pickled vegetables -- and a biting stone to help promote the growth of strong teeth.
The alkaline substance will help to neutralize acidic smells from fish, sticky spills and some leftovers.
Slater's recipes are serious and thoughtful -- his braised oxtail is a dark, sticky knockout, and his fish soup with saffron and hot pepper cured me of an oncoming cold -- but he's always on the side of the harried home cook.
