Authentic Cooking Class Review: Backstreet Academy Laos

Review of Backstreet Academy’s Authentic Cooking Class in Luang Prabang, Laos

Southeast Asia boasts a crazy number of sensational travel destinations but there’s something about Luang Prabang, that sets it apart from the rest. Often overlooked due to a lack of coastline, Laos is an absolute hive of culture, architecture, religion, spirituality and sensational food and Luang Prabang is the epitome embodiment of all four. I’ve been in love with the place since I first visited, back in 2014, and it’s vibrant, colorful and enticing vibe is what lured me back just a few months ago.

I’d barely landed in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO-listed treasure set in a luscious lowland valley of northern Laos, and I’d already booked a cooking class. I was determined not to miss the chance to delve deeper into the roots of the country’s delightful cuisine this time around.

The delightfully tropical local cuisine is one of the country’s best assets and although I feasted with abandon on my first visit — I was determined to learn some wicked insider secrets so I could recreate the delicious flavors at home. Choosing the right cooking class was a no brainer: a traditional vegetarian Hmong authentic cooking class with Backstreet Academy was at the very top of my -must-do list.

I’d come across Backstreet Academy in Vientiane in 2014, when I joined an authentic cooking class with a friend – and blogged about it here –  and knew that I wanted to reach out to them again. This incredible agency impressed me from the get-go. They are run by locals for locals, with activities focusing mainly on the traditional aspects of local indigenous cultures in Southeast Asia.

With Backstreet Academy in Luang Prabang, for example, you can learn the ancient art of knife making, wood carving and basket weaving. You can get a behind-the-scenes look at rice farming and learn how to make the local wine. All classes are held in local villages and (what I loved most) Backstreet Academy employs ‘facilitators’ rather than professional guides. These are local students (often from university) who use the opportunity to improve their English language skills whilst providing a much-needed translation service. My first cooking class was epic and I was confident that my Luang Prabang experience would be equally priceless.

Authentic Cooking Class in Laos

It was a steaming hot, Luang Prabang afternoon. The mercury hit the high 90s and I was seriously considering rescheduling the authentic cooking class I had booked with a local Hmong family. Who on earth wants to create a feast over open hot coals in this kind of sizzling heat?! Then again, it’s never exactly cold in Luang Prabang so there’d be no point delaying the inevitably mouthwatering experience.

Before I knew it, my ride arrived. In a traditional Laotian mode of transport.

In less than 10 minutes we arrived at the modest traditional abode of a local Hmong family, who’d guide me through the afternoon’s cooking class.

 

About the Hmong

The Hmong tribe of Southeast Asia have remained essentially stateless for centuries. They were ousted from ancient China and migrated south, settling all over the region but, primarily, in Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand, and many remained in the southern provinces of China, namely Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi. Although Hmong cuisine showcases great regional diversity, having incorporated local staples into their diet, they all have one thing in common: culinary traditions are handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. The language itself was only put to paper in the mid-1950s! Typically, Hmong meals consist of steamed white rice (not the sticky variety that is most common in Laos) and a selection of mouthwatering dishes, most of which are vegetarian dips cooked with impressive amounts of fiery chilly.

Making Jeow Mak Keua  and Tum Mark Hoong

For my afternoon soiree with my host Hmong family, I had chosen to cook jeow mak keua (a smokey aubergine dip which I seek out daily when in Laos) tum mark hoong (spicy green papaya salad) and a dip made of rattan shoots, which I honestly didn’t even know was an edible food. Don’t you make furniture out of that?!

You could definitely use it as a weapon!

I’d requested that the family choose their favorite soup as the fourth dish to prepare and was delighted to see a bowl full of mushrooms when I arrived. Kang hed is a wild mushroom soup that’s usually only found in northern Laos.

Hue Lee, the manager of Backstreet Academy at Luang Prabang, was there to greet me as I arrived and he introduced me to the family who’d graciously agreed to host me for an afternoon. The cooking ‘station’ was set up outside and I could see the coal fire was already smoking. My lovely ‘host mum’ and I didn’t need too much help with communication, actually, as she showed me the ropes.

We roasted the eggplant, cut the onions, pounded the garlic and I was encouraged to include as many chilies as I wished, in every dish. I tried to impress my hosts by including handfuls of the hot stuff, knowing that their tolerance to spiciness would be considerable. And I only mildly regretted it later!

As suspected, the rattan shoots were the most fascinating ingredient of the day. Roasted, peeled and pound to a smooth paste, it was combined with minced garlic, salt and coriander to create a gloriously yummy – and ever so bitter – dip.

What surprised me, thinking in retrospect, was the fact that we actually never used a fat of any kind. No oil, no butter…nada. Just the smoked and roasted main ingredient (eggplant and rattan shoot) or shredded fresh ingredient (green papaya), combined with healthy doses of sashed garlic and coriander and, for the papaya salad, a couple of tablespoons of fish sauce, squeezed lime and shrimp paste, which made it absolutely mouthwatering.

The whole cooking process took about 2 hours and (for the best part!) concluded with a shared meal of everything we’d prepared. Needless to say, this was the best local meal I’ve ever had in Luang Prabang and somehow made even tastier by the shared experience with this gorgeous local family.

If you’re looking for something truly unique to do on your next visit to Luang Prabang, or really, anywhere in Laos, check out the offerings of Backstreet Academy and support this conscientious company. Providing an authentic cooking class experience to discerning foreigners whilst simultaneously securing an income for a local family.

A marvelous win-win if ever there was one.

Disclosure statement: As a Backstreet Academy Ambassador, I enjoyed this cooking class as a guest although was free to review the experience as I saw it. Yes, it was really THAT good and I’m immensely proud to be associated with such a socially-conscientious enterprise. The way I see it, these peer-to-peer tours take the commercial side of tourism away, leaving you with authentic cultural experiences whereby everyone benefits. My taste buds certainly did and I sincerely hope my host family enjoyed our shared afternoon just as much!