[dropcap]Sabaidee[/dropcap] and welcome to Padaek!
Padaek is a Sydney based Lao-Australian food blog with a focus on Lao cuisine. I am a Lao-Australian artist and home cook with a passion for food. I’m particularly interested in exploring new recipes and ingredients.
I find cooking and learning about food to be an enlightening and fulfilling process. On this blog, I’ll share with you, my journey and discoveries with food. You’ll also find some of my favourite recipes, as well as new recipes that I’ve learnt along the way.
This blog is named after the quintessential Lao ingredient and fish sauce called Padaek (also Padek or Lao bagoong, Lao: ປາແດກ).
Padaek is traditional Lao fermented fish sauce. It is opaque, chunky, pungent, soupy, funky, intensely flavoured and umami-rich. It is eaten raw or cooked, and the sauce is traditionally added to many classic Lao dishes, including the ubiquitous tum mark hoong (spicy green papaya salad). You can find a step by step recipe for padaek (along with links to other padaek recipes online) here.
Thanks very much for visiting and reading Padaek. I hope you find the blog useful and entertaining. If you have any questions about the blog, recipes or posts herein, feel free to contact me or leave a comment. I’ll be more than happy to help you. Have a great day!
Love this :)
Thanks Thai Village!
Can’t wait to learn more about Lao recipes!
Thanks for your comment. That’s awesome! Stay tuned for more Lao recipes.
Fantastic! I know very little about Lao food and will be following for sure :)
Thanks Jem. There’s a lot about Lao food to be excited about. The mix of ingredients, flavours and dishes are both delicious and colourful. More Lao recipes are on their way. Thanks for following.
Padaek, I’m typically not a fan of cooking–especially Lao foods that require much prep work. However, I’ll be looking to your blog now for recipes to make for my husband when I’m feeling especially chef-like :)
Hi Kelsey, Thanks for your comment. Glad that you’ve found the blog and I hope you find it useful. I look forward to sharing more recipes that might appeal to you and your husband. Cooking at home is a good change from eating out and can also be a lot of fun. There are many Lao recipes that are easy and quick to make.
I’m thinking about the caption for this picture! ;)
Hi Joanna, Thanks for your comment. It’s an interesting jar of padaek, isn’t it? It’s an old photo, although it hasn’t changed much since then. Perhaps a little darker in colour.
Thanks for visiting and leaving lovely comments! Glad to have found your blog too :)
Hi Claire, Thanks for your visit and comment. I look forward to communicating with you again soon.
I’ve been around Southeast Asia a lot, eaten A LOT, but have yet to been to Laos. Been trawling your blog, I love everything I see. Everything is so familiar yet different at once. Great job, will be checking back :) x
Hi Shu Han, Thanks for your comment. I haven’t been back to Laos and can’t wait to do so. Things can change so much over the years. Thanks for your kind words about the blog. I appreciate it. I enjoy your blog also. Please visit again.
Hello,
what a great site you’ve set up! Just discovered your site and I think we have a lot in common so I’ll be following you from now on! I’m Australian, living and working in Laos. To fill in the gap and to provide more information about the greatness of Lao food and culture, my friend and I have set up our own food and adventure blog. I hope we will have room for collaboration at some point. Thanks!
Hi there! Thanks for your visit and glad you like the site. I look forward to reading and following your blog and journey in Laos. So far, it looks great! Keep it up. Best wishes with your adventure in Laos. :)