🍢 SNACK
Sai Oua (Luang Prabang Herb Sausage)
Coarse, juicy pork sausage packed with lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaf, shallot, garlic, chilli and fresh herbs, bound with a little sticky rice and grilled over charcoal.
Lao · advanced · serves 8
prep 60 min · cook 35 min
~368 cal · 36g protein · 14g carbs · 18g fat · 2g fiber · 4g sugars · 6g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Sai oua is the sausage of Laos and belongs above all to Luang Prabang, the old royal capital of the Lan Xang kingdom. It appears in the recipes recorded by Phia Sing, the royal chef, and it is still made at home and sold grilled at markets, eaten with sticky rice as a snack or starter.
Unlike most European sausages it is not built on dried spices. Coarsely chopped fatty pork is kneaded with a paste of , , shallot, garlic and chilli, with shredded makrut lime leaves, coriander and spring onion, and seasoned with and salt. A spoonful of cooked sticky rice helps bind it and adds a faint sourness.
The mixture is stuffed loosely into casings and grilled slowly over charcoal until the skin crackles and the fat runs. The same sausage is eaten across the border in northern Thailand, where it is known as Chiang Mai sausage. Serve it with sticky rice, a spicy jaew dip and raw garlic, ginger and chilli on the side.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut- and egg-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
- 1 kg fatty pork shoulder, or shoulder with some belly, coarsely minced
- 4 stalks, tender parts very finely minced
- 30 g , peeled and mincedHard to find? 20 g fresh ginger - hotter and less piney; the sausage loses some of its perfume
- 5 shallots, minced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 to 6 fresh bird's eye chillies, chopped
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 10 makrut lime leaves, central rib removed, finely shredded
- 1 small bunch fresh coriander, chopped
- 3 spring onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup cooked sticky rice
- 2 tbsp
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- about 2 m natural hog casings
Instructions
- 1Rinse the casings and soak them in warm water for 30 to 40 minutes. Keep the meat very cold in the fridge while you prepare the aromatics.
- 2Pound the lemongrass, galangal and fresh chillies in a mortar to a rough paste, then add the shallots and garlic and pound until fine.✎ Chef’s noteMince the lemongrass as finely as you can. Coarse fibres stay woody inside the sausage.
- 3In a large bowl, knead the pork with the paste, chilli flakes, lime leaves, coriander, spring onions, sticky rice, fish sauce, salt and sugar for 3 to 5 minutes, until evenly mixed and slightly sticky. Fry a small piece and taste, then adjust the seasoning.
- 4Stuff the mixture loosely into the casings with a sausage stuffer or funnel, then twist into 12 cm links or leave as one long coil. Prick any air pockets with a needle.
- 5Grill over medium charcoal for 25 to 35 minutes, turning often, until the skin is blistered and browned and the inside reaches 71C (160F). Or bake at 200C (400F) for 35 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes, slice and serve with sticky rice.
Luang Prabang tradition; also made in northern Thailand.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Luang Prabang. Laos's old royal capital cooks refined Lao food, sticky rice, jaew dips, herb-laden salads, and river fish. French-colonial baguettes and Mekong fish define its serene table.
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Laos. Sticky rice is not boiled, it is soaked overnight and steamed in a conical bamboo basket called a huad, then tipped into a lidded basket, the thip khao, that each person keeps beside them. You pinch off a lump, knead it into a ball with your fingers, and use it to pick up everything else. Laotians sometimes call themselves luk khao niao, children of the sticky rice.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Laos
Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad)Shredded green papaya pounded in a mortar with padaek, lime, chili, garlic, and tomato, the dark, funky, fiery Lao papaya salad.
Larb (Lao Herb & Meat Salad)Warm minced pork tossed with lime, fish sauce, chili flakes, toasted rice powder, and a garden of herbs.
Or LamA Luang Prabang herb stew of meat and vegetables thickened with sticky rice and buzzed with peppery sakhan vine.
Browse all Laos recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Grill or barbecue, Mortar and pestle.
Storing it: Best straight off the heat. Leftovers keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and reheat well in a hot oven rather than the microwave.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Sai Oua (Luang Prabang Herb Sausage)?
Coarse, juicy pork sausage packed with lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaf, shallot, garlic, chilli and fresh herbs, bound with a little sticky rice and grilled over charcoal.
Where does Sai Oua (Luang Prabang Herb Sausage) come from?
Sai Oua (Luang Prabang Herb Sausage) is a Lao dish from Luang Prabang, Laos.
Can Sai Oua (Luang Prabang Herb Sausage) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Sai Oua (Luang Prabang Herb Sausage) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Sai Oua (Luang Prabang Herb Sausage) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Sai Oua (Luang Prabang Herb Sausage) take to make?
About 95 minutes total (60 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 8.
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