Ants’ Eggs Steamed in Banana Leaves

• 1 cup of ants’ eggs (the eggs of the red ant, known in Laos as mod som, the ‘sour ant’)
• minced pork, including some fat, a quantity the size of a betel nut

Mix together the minced pork, the pounded shallots and the hen’s or duck’s eggs. Sprinkle with salt and fish sauce. Add the ants’ eggs after washing them clean. Taste and check the saltiness. Then add the ground black pepper and the chopped spring onion leaves and mix thoroughly.

Wrap the mixture in pieces of banana leaf, making two packages, and secure these with bambo