Pa Daek (Pla Ra): Lao Fermented Fish, How It’s Used, and Why You Should Cook It
Pa daek (pla ra in Thailand) is the fermented fish paste of Laos and Isan: small freshwater fish salted with roasted rice or rice bran and fermented for…
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Fermented Foods of Southeast Asia
Fermented fish and shrimp, rice wines, pickles and fermented cakes from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Rượu Cần: Vietnam’s Jar Rice Wine Drunk Through Bamboo Straws
Rượu cần is the jar rice wine of Vietnam's highland peoples: cooked glutinous rice is mixed with a dried men starter, sealed in an earthenware jar to ferment,…
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Basi: The Ilocano Sugarcane Wine, and Why Tree Bark Goes Into It
Basi is the fermented sugarcane wine of the Ilocano people of northern Luzon, Philippines. Cane juice is boiled down, dried bark – usually two or three of samac,…
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Lahpet Thoke: Burmese Fermented Tea Leaf Salad, What Lahpet Is and How to Make the Salad
Lahpet is Myanmar's fermented tea leaf: steamed tea leaves packed tightly and fermented until soft, sour and savoury, mainly by Lactobacillus and Acetobacter with yeasts. It's eaten as…
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Dưa Muối (Dưa Cải Chua): Vietnamese Fermented Mustard Greens and When They’re Ready to Eat
Dưa muối, or dưa cải chua, is Vietnamese mustard greens fermented in salt brine until golden-yellow, sour and crunchy, eaten beside rich braises and cooked into sour soups.…
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Oncom: West Java’s Mold-Fermented Cake, and How to Make It Safely
Oncom is a mold-fermented cake from West Java, Indonesia, made from by-products such as okara (soy milk pulp) and peanut press cake. Red oncom is grown over by…
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Tapuy Recipe: Rice Wine From the Philippine Cordillera, Made With Bubod
Tapuy is the rice wine of the Philippine Cordillera (Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province): steamed glutinous rice fermented in a closed jar with bubod, a dried starter of rice,…
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Tempoyak Recipe: Malaysian Fermented Durian and How to Cook With It
Tempoyak is fermented durian from Malaysia and Indonesia: durian flesh with about 2% salt, fermented at warm room temperature (about 27°C) for 4–6 days until sour, then refrigerated.…
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Balao-Balao (Burong Hipon): Filipino Fermented Shrimp and Rice, Safety-First Recipe
Balao-balao (burong hipon) is a Kapampangan ferment of fresh shrimp, cooked rice and salt, soured by lactic acid bacteria over about a week and sautéed before serving. Because…
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What Is Prahok? Cambodia’s Fermented Fish Paste, How It’s Used and Is It Safe
Prahok is Cambodia's salted, fermented freshwater fish paste – grey-brown, very salty (17–27% salt) and pungent – used by the spoonful to give Khmer soups, curries and dips…
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Naem (Nham): Thai Fermented Pork Sausage – What It Is, Safety, and How to Cook It
Naem (nham) is Thai fermented pork sausage: minced pork, pork rind, cooked sticky rice, garlic and salt fermented for a few days until sour. Lactic acid bacteria lower…
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Tapai Recipe: How to Make Indonesian Fermented Sticky Rice (Tape Ketan)
Tapai (tape ketan) is steamed glutinous rice fermented with a ragi starter. Soak the rice for 4–8 hours, steam it for about 30 minutes, cool it to lukewarm,…
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Atchara Recipe: Filipino Pickled Green Papaya (and Is Atchara Fermented?)
Atchara is the Filipino sweet-sour pickle of shredded green papaya, carrot, ginger, onion and pepper in a boiled vinegar-and-sugar brine. It's a vinegar pickle, not a fermented food,…
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Burong Isda: Filipino Fermented Rice and Fish (Safety-First Recipe)
Burong isda is a Filipino ferment of cooked rice, fish and salt from Luzon, soured by lactic acid bacteria over about 3–7 days and usually sautéed before serving.…
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