Raw buffalo meat being chopped finely for inclusion in northern Thai-style laap, a "salad" of minced meat. Although cooked versions of the dish exist, the vast majority of diners prefer the taste and texture of raw meat.
A dish of Phrae-style laap, a "salad" of minced meat, which includes raw pork and uncooked pork blood, is served the traditional way, with a basket sticky rice and a platter of fresh herbs.
The iced storage container at a Paa Maa, a restaurant in Phrae, holds the ingredients essential for northern Thailand's meat-based dishes. Starting at the centre and moving clockwise, it includes raw pig's blood, nam phia (the boiled contents of a cow's rumen, or first stomach), nam dee (uncooked bile taken from the gallbladder—the latter also shown here—of a cow), raw cow's blood, raw beef, raw tripe, raw cow offal, boiled pig's skin and raw pork.
Bags of cow bile and pig's blood are bagged up for to-go orders at a Jin Sot ("Fresh Meat"), a restaurant in Phrae. The bile is added to dishes to provide a bitter flavor, while raw pig's blood is the main ingredient in luu muu, a soup-like dish. A dish of luu muu, raw pig's blood combined with a spice mixture and served over crispy deep-fried noodles, intestines, pork rinds and kaffir lime leaf. According to Bangkok-based veterinarian Dr. Daniel Schar, "Streptococcus suis infection following consumption of raw pig blood may result in fatal outcome in upwards of 15-20 percent of cases." The doctor adds, "Generally, consumption of raw blood is not advisable, which is why you won't find it commercially available in countries with reasonable food supply chain oversight."
A cook displays a dish of Phrae-style beef laap, which includes minced raw beef combined with uncooked blood, nam phia (the contents of a cow's rumen, or first stomach), nam dee (bile from a cow's gallbladder), tripe, and a spice paste. A dish of saa, strips of raw beef mixed with uncooked beef blood, nam phia (the bitter liquid gathered from the rumen or first stomach of a cow), raw liver and tripe, coarsely sliced herbs and a spice paste. "People eat raw meat dishes while drinking alcohol," explains Thanyaphorn Wongthip, a cook at a restaurant in Phrae. "It kills the bad stuff."
A cook at Jin Sot, a lauded laap restaurant in Phrae, displays a bowl of nam phia, liquid gathered from the rumen or first stomach of a cow. At Jin Sot, the liquid, which provides meat-based dishes with a desirable bitter flavor, is boiled with fish sauce and pandanus leaves before being used. A bowl of luu phia, a bitter/spicy soup consisting predominantly of nam phia, the contents of a cow's rumen, or first stomach, supplemented with raw offal and a spice mixture, and served with a platter of fresh herbs.