COMMUNITY CHEFS LA: Lao Food with Saeng

Saeng is cooking from East LA! He teaches us how to make a plant-based version of a Lao sticky rice wrap called, mieng muang luang! These fresh and tasty bites are delicious and fun to make! Read more about this Community Chefs LA story below!

Meet Saeng

Saengthong Douangdara is a Los Angeles-based cooking instructor and personal chef. He was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after his parents fled Laos. He was raised in Wisconsin. For over 5 years, Saeng worked in higher education as a counselor. During his time as a counselor, he nurtured his love of cooking and teaching. He decided to pursue his food ventures full-time and headed out to Laos for the first time for a full month to learn more about the food of his country.

Since he’s been back, he’s expanded his digital chef and cooking class endeavors. He teaches cooking students the science and the historical context of foods. His diverse background growing up as a Lao American in the Midwest where he pursued a bachelors degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison following his master’s at the University of Hawaii at Hilo has given him a wide appreciation of foods around the world. With his education in understanding the significance of foods in underrepresented communities and promoting a holistic balanced mental and physical health, he has combined his passion in cooking and teaching in his interactive lectures about food.

He has published food photography artwork in magazines, lectured at universities, provided cooking lessons across large food retailers, and cooked for Hollywood events. His philosophy around cooking is to make it approachable, educational, and fun! He hopes to use food as a catalyst to teach people about the history and cultures of underrepresented communities.

“My food career started when I was working at UCLA as an academic counselor. In the evenings after leaving work, I would head over to Santa Monica to teach cooking classes at Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories. With my passion for teaching and food, I decided to leave my full-time job and pursue a career in the food creative world. I traveled back to Laos for the first time for a month; I backpacked from the North to the South of Laos to understand the food and to find my place in my community. It was the first time I got to meet my relatives that still lived in southern Laos. This visit was life-changing as I got to facetime my mom with her sister who she has not seen since fleeing the country.”

—Saeng Douangdara in VoyageLA

Language, Identity, & Geography Lessons

Laos is a Southeast Asian landlocked country surrounded by Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), and China. (Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

“Sabaidee p'nong": “Hello friends and family"
Laos is a Southeast Asian landlocked country surrounded by Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, and China.
Luang Prabang is a major city in north central Laos that translates to "Royal Buddha Image."
Did you know that Hmong and Laotian refugees have been settling in California since the 1970s? There are about 160,000 Hmong and Laotian people in the state. In LA, we have a Lao population of about 7,000 (Pew Research Center, 2015 and LA Times, 2019). Unlike Laotian people, Hmong people do no thave a country of their own. The ancestral homeland of Hmong people is present-day Yellow River region in China. In the mid-1600s, many Hmong people were force to migrate to Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and other neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

New Words & Ingredients To Explore

Aromatics: Vegetables and herbs that give a flavor foundation a dish’s personality. Learn more about preparing aromatics here.
Mieng: A one-bite leaf wrap dish. It is popular in Southeast Asian cultures like Lao, Thai, and Hmong.
Galangal: A type of edible root that is more dense and spicy than ginger.
Padaek: Unfiltered fish sauce. In Laos, it is a special type of fish sauce made with fresh water fish, sticky rice, and herbs.
Sesame Leaves: Sometimes called “Perilla,” this leaf is popular in Lao, Korean, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine.
Lemongrass: A type of root commonly found in Southeast Asian and used in stews or curries.
Makrut lime leaves: a specific type of lime plant only found in Southeast Asia and the leaves are often used in cooking but the makrut lime is only used in cleaning products.

Food For Thought

Saeng uses a lot of fragrant herbs (aromatics) to bring brightness and freshness to his dishes. What ingredients do you use to do this in your cooking? What types of vibrant ingredients do you look for in your meals?