Khao Jee

Ingredients

Bread

• 2Lao baguettes

Spread

• 100 gpork liver pâté
• 4 tbspmayonnaise
• 2 tbspMaggi seasoning or light soy

Filling

• 200 gLao pork sausage or sliced cold pork
• 100 gpork floss, optional
• 1cucumber, in batons
• 1 handfulcoriander
• 2spring onions

Pickle

• 1carrot and 1 daikon, julienned
• 100 mlrice vinegar
• 50 gsugar
• 1 tspsalt

To finish

• sliced fresh chilli
• black pepper

Directions

1. Make the pickle at least an hour ahead: toss the julienned carrot and daikon with salt, squeeze out the water after 15 minutes, then steep in the vinegar and sugar.
2. Salt and squeeze the vegetables before pickling. It draws out the water so they stay crunchy rather than going limp in the vinegar.
3. The Lao baguette is lighter and airier than a French one, made with a proportion of rice flour, which is what gives the thin shattering crust.
4. Warm the baguettes briefly in a hot oven or over charcoal for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Warm them just before filling. A crisp crust is the whole structure of the sandwich and a soft baguette collapses under the fillings.
6. Split each lengthways, leaving a hinge, and pull out a little of the crumb from the top half.
7. Hollowing it slightly makes room for the filling without the whole thing bursting open when you bite it.
8. Spread pâté thickly on the bottom half and mayonnaise on the top.
9. Both spreads, on opposite halves. The pâté is the savoury depth and the mayonnaise the richness, and one without the other is not the same sandwich.
10. Shake Maggi seasoning over the bread, which is standard and is what gives the particular salty note.
11. Layer in the sausage or pork, pork floss, drained pickle, cucumber, coriander and spring onion.
12. Add chilli and a grind of black pepper.
13. Press the sandwich closed firmly and cut it in half on the diagonal.
14. Eat it immediately, standing up, which is how it is sold from carts across Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
15. It descends directly from French colonial bread, which Laos kept and made its own, and khao jee simply means grilled rice, the older word for bread.

Technique

• The Vietnamese bánh mì is its close relative and the two share the same colonial origin.
• Pork floss adds a sweet fibrous texture that is characteristic and often missed out abroad.
• Maggi seasoning is genuinely traditional here rather than a shortcut.

Substitutions

• Any light baguette, ideally not a dense sourdough.
• Chicken liver pâté or a good coarse pâté.

Variations

• With a fried egg added.
• With grilled pork skewers as the filling.
• Khao jee pate, ordered simply as pâté sandwich.

History

Baguette sandwich inherited from French colonial bakeries, filled with pate, Lao sausage, herbs and green papaya.

Frequently asked questions

What is Khao Jee?

Khao Jee is a street food from Laos: lao baguette smeared with pâté, stuffed with pork and pickles. Baguette sandwich inherited from French colonial bakeries, filled with pate, Lao sausage, herbs and green papaya.

How long does Khao Jee take to make?

Khao Jee takes 20 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 2 sandwiches. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Khao Jee?

Yes, within limits. Any light baguette, ideally not a dense sourdough. Chicken liver pâté or a good coarse pâté.

What is the most important thing to get right in Khao Jee?

Salt and squeeze the vegetables before pickling. It draws out the water so they stay crunchy rather than going limp in the vinegar.