【Reading】そむぱー

【English Name】Som Pa

Som pa is one of the fish dishes handed down in Laos, a landlocked country of Southeast Asia. In the Lao language, "pa" means fish, and "som" is said to be a word referring to fermentation or acidity. Among dishes bearing the same name "som" is som mu (a fermented food of pork wrapped in banana leaves), and both are classified as dishes that use Laos's traditional fermentation techniques.

Lao cuisine is characterized by taking glutinous rice as its staple food and making heavy use of a fish-derived fermented seasoning called padaek. Som pa can be said to be a dish born within this fermented food culture. In Laos there is a wide variety of dishes that use fish as the ingredient, called by different names according to the cooking method, such as larb pa (tossed with herbs), ping pa (grilled over an open flame), and mok pa (steamed in banana leaves).

Although its direct connection to sushi is thin, the technique of fermenting fish together with salt and rice is sometimes compared to Japan's "narezushi" as a preservation technology with shared elements. The fish fermentation cultures across Southeast Asia are an intriguing theme when considering the origins of sushi as well.