Riverweed (Kai Paen) from Laos

One of the local dishes that can be found in Laos is called the riverweed (kai paen). It is similar to seaweed, but as you can probably already guess, it grows in the river instead. Once it’s collected, it is dried in sheets, and then often coated in sesame seeds and garlic and fried in oil. Sometimes called Riverweed Chips, I’ve had it at a couple of different places to date – one came with a slightly sweet and spicy paste to eat with (jaew bong – which is composed of water buffalo skin, apparently), and the other was presented on its own. They do seem to make a great side dish for a BeerLao though!