Tchéo Bong is one of the most used "creamy sauces" in Luang Prabang. A typical speciality of the province, you will hardly ever find any, apart from in the old royal town. The Laos coming from other provinces, often take advantage of a stay in Luang Prabang to make large purchases of this rather spicy and very tasty composition.
Ingredients
- 1 kg of dried pimento, emptied of their grains
- 4 kg of crushed garlic
- 30 g of chopped mild ginger
- 3 kg of sugar
- 1 bottle of brine
- 20 g of honey
- 20 g of ground dried shrimp
- 2 kg de beef rind
Preparation
- Cut the beef rind into thin slices, soak them in salty water and drain them. Then put the pieces of beef in an earthenware pot of water on a medium heat until the meat tenderizes.
- Roast the ground pimento in a saucepan with a smear of oil. Mix with the sugar, then the ginger.
- Put the roasted ingredients in a mortar and pound them. At the same time add the brine and the garlic. Crush until everything is well mixed. Then, add the pieces of beef and the dried shrimps and continue to mix.
- Pour the honey over it and transfer everything to a serving dish.
This dish is normally served with rice, vegetables, grilled fish, dried meat, but also goes very well with dried alga from the Mekong (see picture).
Tchéo Bong can be cooked in two ways, sweet or spicy, according to what it is served with.
It is often prepared in huge quantities, because this ‘preserve’ keeps very well and is often better after having been kept for a certain period of time.
