Luang Prabang Sausage

[Paddy O'Furniture]

Okay, I'm new here so nail me up if this has been asked before (I tried to search, but probably didn't do a sterling job of it), but I used to think people who said: "I've died and gone to heaven" had a right to such sentimental clap trap. However, having tasted Luang Prabang sausage in Luang Prabang, I can never believe anyone who utters these words unless they also have a plate of the aforementioned beside them!

Here's the rub - there's a million and one (okay, a slight exageration) of spicy sausage recipes, but an intensive search of this here interweb thing reveals no recipes for Luang Prabang sausage, unless of course they're in Laotian.

I've somehow stumbled into the murky world of sausage making (I haven't made any yet, just spent some money and thought about how great and complete my life will be when the postman eventually gives up opening other peoples' birthday cards and delivers the stuff), but I want to make the beloved Luang Prabang sausage as soon as possible.

Does anyone have an authentic recipe, or a Laotian relative they can torture until it is revealed?

Please help, because I'm hanging out here!

[David.]

Ingredients

400 grams pork meat, including some fat, washed and minced 150 grams pork fat, washed and minced

2 dried chilli peppers, soaked in water until soft

10 (small) shallots

10 black peppercorns

pound the above three ingredients together finely

coriander leaves, finely chopped

salt and fish sauce

Natural hog casings

Method

Place in a bowl the pounded ingredients, the minced pork, the minced pork fat and the chopped coriander leaves. Add the fish sauce and mix all together. Take a very small sample portion of the mixture, wrap it in pieces of banana leaf and grill it until cooked. Taste it and check the saltiness. (If this test is satisfactory you can proceed to make the sausages. If the taste of the grilled sample is not right, adjust the seasoning.)

Stuff into casing.

David.

P.S. Good luck with the banana leaf. I don't think Franco has any in stock.........

David.

[Paul Kribs]

That sounds like a very nice sausage.. as for the banana leaf, you can find plenty around south-east London. I may have to try that one.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[TJ Buffalo]

Yum, that recipe sounds good. Any idea on how much coriander and how much fish sauace, or is that determined by experiment?