Grilled sticky-rice cake — leftover rice formed into a patty, dipped in egg, grilled over coals. Lao street snack.
Charcoal-grilling sticky rice is a long-standing Lao practice — sticky rice is the staple, and a quick turn over coals makes it a meal. A common form presses day-old leftover rice into patties on a bamboo skewer: households that steam sticky rice daily always have cold rice on hand, so nothing is wasted and the char gives the grain new flavour. A brushed-on egg coat protects the surface from drying or scorching, making it the most popular version — the Lao call this one khao jee. Now sold at street braziers, night markets and school gates from Laos across the Thai northeast (Isan), it is an all-day staple snack and breakfast.
Vientiane's Patuxai night vendors sell khao niao ping for 5,000 kip a stick (about USD 0.25 in 2024); the Khamla family stall has run since the 1980s next to the Independence Monument and uses pomelo wood for cleaner smoke than charcoal.
Golden-brown disc, charred ridges from the grill, crispy egg-glaze shell, hot soft-chewy rice interior. Salty-savory from soy or fish sauce brushed mid-grill, faint smoke, mild sweetness from the toasted rice itself. Eaten off the stick, warm, in 4 bites.
The egg coat must be brushed on twice — once raw onto the patty before grilling (sets to seal moisture in), once mid-grill after the first side colors (gives the crisp shell). One coat alone either burns or stays soft. Skip the salt in the egg; salt the patty separately or the egg over-tightens.
Variations
The egg-brushed savory version is the most common — the Lao khao jee; some embed grilled chicken or sausage. The sweet branch soaks the rice in sweetened coconut milk before grilling, often wrapped around a banana filling, eaten as an Isan snack. The plainest form skips the egg entirely, finished with just a pinch of salt or a brush of Lao fermented fish sauce (padaek); a Luang Prabang version uses purple sticky rice with an extra jeow bong brush.
On the Palate
Where Khao Niao Ping sits in the Lao flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
3 steps · 17 min
- 15 min
Form leftover sticky rice into thick patties.
- 22 min
Brush with beaten egg.
Watch outBrush egg on raw before it hits the grill — this first coat seals the moisture into the rice patty.
- 310 min
Grill over charcoal 5 min per side until crispy.
Watch outGrill until the surface crisps and spots golden, and brush a second egg coat once the first side colors — one coat alone either burns or stays soft.
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