Question: Who are The Children of the Sticky Rice and how did they get their name?
Answer: The people of Laos (and they gave it to themselves)
While rice of all kinds is at the heart of all Southeast Asian cuisine, only in Laos is sticky rice specifically considered the absolute staple above all. Lao people eat more sticky rice per capita than any other culture on earth, consuming it so often that it is considered a core part of the national identity. Generations ago, they nicknamed themselves "Children of the Sticky Rice."
In neighboring Thailand and Cambodia, sticky rice is more common in dessert or as a snack, but in Laos, a meal isn’t a proper meal without it. The table is always graced with a sticky-rice-filled bamboo basket called a thip khao. Sticky rice is not seen as interchangeable with plain white rice (one of the rare foods that customarily requires a spoon in Laos), and is always eaten with one’s fingers. (Chopstick are used only for noodles.) The custom is to grab a ball of sticky rice with one’s right hand, and use it like a scoop to gather whatever meat or vegetable is being served.
Sticky rice is so revered that it is the most important gift the local people offer each day in Tak Bat, the morning alms-giving ritual. Monks, who depend on the charity of the Lao people, make their way to the temple, bowls outstretched to receive the stick rice that sustains not just them but their entire culture.
8 More Things Laos Loves
- Taking it slow: Bo pen yang —a somewhat untranslatable mash-up of "come what may" and "no worries"—is the guiding principle here: don’t hurry and don’t sweat unexpected bumps in the road.
- Islands: Surprisingly for a landlocked nation, one of the most beloved nature settings (and backpacker destinations) is Si Phan Don, "the 4,000 Islands," along the Mekong in the south.
- Ethnic languages: Only about half of Laotians speak Lao routinely; the other half speak their own ethnic languages on a daily basis, more than 60 in number for the 100 differing groups within the nation’s borders.
- Silk: In Laos, silk weaving isn’t just an industry but an art form, with traditional textiles woven only by hand. Each family’s weave is different from the next and it can be a slow process; for the most elaborate patterns, weavers may yield only a few centimeters per day.
- Rice whiskey: Found in every market, the national drink is lao-Lao (which literally means alcohol of Laos). It comes plain or flavored (infused with everything from honey to scorpions), and is mixed with green tea and soda for a cocktail called Pygmy Slow Lorange.
- Orchids: From the mountains to lowlands, Laos is full of orchids. How full? Botanists have named 900 orchid species native to Laos.
- Petanque: Though brought by the French, the lawn bowling game has become just about the default leisure sport of Laos, its low physical exertion making it popular with young and old players alike, as you‘ll see in any park in Vientiane or Luang Prabang.
- Laughter: The sound of laughter fills the air in Laos, where witty banter, playful teasing, and a love of practical jokes builds community and is how people show affection.
Discover the pleasures of Laos for yourself with O.A.T. during Ancient Kingdoms: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam.
