A Luang Prabang herb stew of meat and vegetables thickened with sticky rice and buzzed with sakhan pepper wood.

Where does Or Lam come from?

Or Lam is a Lao dish from Luang Prabang, Laos.

Can Or Lam be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Or Lam recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Or Lam take to make?

About 75 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 50 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Or Lam — a Luang Prabang, Laos recipe

Name: Or Lam
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Lao
Ingredients: 1.5 lb beef or buffalo, cubed (with a little dried meat); 4 Thai eggplant; a handful long beans; 1 cup mushrooms; 1 piece or 1 tsp sakhan (pepper wood) or black pepper + a pinch of Sichuan pepper; 2 stalks lemongrass; 2 chili; a big handful lots of dill; 2 tbsp toasted sticky rice, ground (to thicken)

Asia → 🇱🇦 Laos → Luang Prabang

Or Lam

Lao · medium · serves 4

prep 25 min · cook 50 min

~537 cal · 49g protein · 25g carbs · 26g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Herby Lao stew with eggplant, beans, and dill

🇱🇦 Luang Prabang

Or lam is the pride of Luang Prabang, a soupy stew unique for its use of sakhan — a peppery climbing vine that gives a numbing tingle — and dill, eggplant, and long beans. Thickened with a little toasted sticky rice, it is earthy, herbal, and unlike anything else in Southeast Asia.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

•

1.5 lb beef or buffalo, cubed (with a little dried meat)

•

4 Thai eggplant

•

a handful long beans

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1 cup mushrooms

•

1 piece or 1 tsp sakhan (pepper wood) or black pepper + a pinch of Sichuan pepper

•

2 stalks lemongrass

•

2 chili

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a big handful lots of dill

•

2 tbsp toasted sticky rice, ground (to thicken)

Instructions

1

Simmer the beef (or mushrooms and tofu) with lemongrass and sakhan in water until tender.

2

Add the eggplant, long beans, and mushrooms and cook until soft.

3

Stir in the ground toasted sticky rice to lightly thicken the broth.

4

Add the chili and a big handful of dill at the end.

5

Serve with more sticky rice on the side.

Luang Prabang tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Luang Prabang. Mekong monastery town of herbs, alms, and sticky rice.

🗺️

Laos. Sticky rice, fresh herbs, and the art of larb.

🌍

Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →