Raw pork cured with garlic and rice until sour, wrapped in banana leaf. The sourness comes fast — within two or three days in the heat — and that acidity is what the preserve depends on.
It is raw pork soured at room temperature and traditionally eaten uncooked, which carries a real trichinella and salmonella risk unless the acidification hits its target fast — and there is no way to know from the outside whether it did.
What goes into it
- lean pork, and often pork skin
- cooked rice
- garlic, in quantity
- salt
- chilli
- banana leaf
How it is made
Minced pork is mixed with cooked rice, crushed garlic and salt, packed tight into banana-leaf parcels with the air pressed out, and left at room temperature for two to four days. Lactic bacteria feed on the rice starch and drop the pH sharply, souring and preserving the meat. It is eaten raw or barely cooked.
How long it takes: two to four days at room temperature
How it is eaten
Grilled in its leaf, or eaten raw with fresh chilli, ginger and sticky rice.
Frequently asked questions
What is Som Moo?
Som Moo is a fermented & pickled from Laos: raw pork cured with garlic and rice until sour, wrapped in banana leaf.
How is Som Moo made?
Minced pork is mixed with cooked rice, crushed garlic and salt, packed tight into banana-leaf parcels with the air pressed out, and left at room temperature for two to four days. Lactic bacteria feed on the rice starch and drop the pH sharply, souring and preserving the meat. It is eaten raw or barely cooked. It takes two to four days at room temperature.
Can I make Som Moo at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is raw pork soured at room temperature and traditionally eaten uncooked, which carries a real trichinella and salmonella risk unless the acidification hits its target fast — and there is no way to know from the outside whether it did.
What goes into Som Moo?
Lean pork, and often pork skin, cooked rice, garlic, in quantity, salt, chilli, banana leaf.
How is Som Moo eaten?
Grilled in its leaf, or eaten raw with fresh chilli, ginger and sticky rice.
