Lao Measures

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top 1000Traditional Recipes of Laos
Traditional Recipes of Laos

By Phia Sing

Published 1981

  • About

Lao cooks do not often use precise measures. They judge the quantity of liquid to be added to a dish, for example, from experience and by eye. But there are Lao measures, and Phia Sing uses them in his recipes. Here they are, with their (approximate) imperial and metric equivalents.

Lao English Imperial Metric
kang buang ½ spoonful (teaspoon) 5 ml
tem buang 1 spoonful (tablespoon) 15 ml
tem buang keng 1 soupspoonful (soupspoon) 10 ml
jong ladleful (various) 6 tbsp-½ pint 100–285 ml
jawk beaker ½ pint 285 ml
jawk kéo nam glass beaker ½ pint 285 ml
jok jug 1 pint 570 ml
jok kateun medium-sized jug ⅞ pint 500 ml
jok noi small jug ¾ pint 425 ml
jok lik metal jug 1 pint 570 ml
jok tong bronze jug 1 pint 570 ml
tuay bowl (various)    
tuay kateun medium-sized bowl ⅝ pint 350 ml
tuay keng noi small soupbowl ½ pint 285 ml
tuay keng soupbowl ¾ pint 425 ml
tuay keng nyai large soupbowl 1¼ to 1½ pints 700–850 ml
tuay mak toom* ricebowl ¼ pint 140 ml
tuay mak toom noi small ricebowl 6 to 7 tbsp 90–105 ml
khai ped duck’s egg 4 to 5 tbsp 60–75 ml
khai kai hen’s egg 3 tbsp 45 ml