ISO Lao Sausage links for cooking at home

[sfbing]

I hear that the market next to the That Luang Restaurant in San Pablo is closed. Since I used to pick up a couple of packs of sausage after a tasty meal at That Luang for bbqs and cooking at home, I now need a new source for links of Laotian sausage. Any one got any leads?

[Robert Lauriston]

The Khmer and Lao grocery stores in Oakland.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/631508

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Lao Market
1619 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94606

Sontepheap Market
1400 14th Ave, Oakland, CA

[daveena]

I keep hoping that Boccalone will come out with a Lao sour sausage. The factory is on the same block as Black and Silver Lao Food and Burger... seems like a great opportunity for cross-pollination...

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Boccalone Factory - Not Open to Public
1924 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94606

[yummyrice]

Hehe that would be very interesting to see indeed. =)

[Robert Lauriston]

I don't think Boccalone's set up for that. Lao sausage is fresh, not cured. It would have to be frozen for distribution.

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Boccalone Factory - Not Open to Public
1924 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94606

[kclb]

I've seen frozen Lao sausages at Sun Hop Fat 1 on 12th St. in Oakland. They're in the frozen seafood area.

[yummyrice]

Really? I'm surprised because isn't Sun Hop Fat 1 a Chinese market?

Lao, Thai, and Khmer markets typically sell frozen Lao sausages, but I've never seen them available at a Chinese market before.

Anyway, Mekong Market (Houa Khong) by the Grocery Outlet in San Pablo sells Lao sausages too.

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Houa Khong (Mekong) Market
2049 23rd St, San Pablo, CA

[kclb]

I was surprised when I saw it as well, but yes, they do have frozen Lao sausages there. Sun Hop Fat may be a Chinese market, but they do carry a lot of stuff from Southeast Asia as well.

[chefj]

There is a fairly large Southeast Asian community in the Eastlake neighborhood.

[yummyrice]

Now it makes sense why Sun Hop Fat sells Lao sausages. Are the prices reasonable at that market? Or are the Lao sausages cheaper at a typical Lao, Thai, or Khmer market? I'm just curious because some of my friends live in that area and would like to pick up some frozen ones. I usually would recommend a Lao market because common sense dictates that a native food item would be cheaper when purchased directly from a Lao market, but then again Sun Hop Fat is probably a big market and therefore should be able to offer a better deal on the Lao sausages.

[kclb]

I didn't buy them, so I don't remember the prices, sorry.

[daveena]

This thread piqued my interest so I stopped in Sun Hop Fat today to pick up a package of sausages - the smallest package I could find was 3 lbs, for $12.

[yummyrice]

About how many links were in that package?

[daveena]

7 links, each about a foot long.

[yummyrice]

Thanks. At Lao markets they're only about $1 per link. =)

[yummyrice]

I take that back. I shouldn't have based the price on the number of links because there isn't a standard link size. Therefore, if comparing the price per pound, the Lao sausages sold at Sun Hop Fat 1 are roughly the same price or slightly cheaper than the ones sold at Lao markets.

[daveena]

Went back for more and found smaller packages - 3 links for $3.99. They have two brands - "Hmong brand" and "Laotian Brand". We preferred "Laotian Brand"'s more prominent spice and lemongrass, but both were good. Both contain MSG, if that's a concern to anyone.

Thanks to this thread, Lao sausages have now become my summer bbq staple. I especially like them grilled in fig leaves. One of my friends can't stand lettuce, so I started wrapping them in rice rolls (also available at Sun Hop Fat 1) - I can pack a lot more herbs in with the rice rolls, so I might just keep doing that from now on. I'm a big fan of the 99 cent packages of herbs, too - picked up culantro and rau om (rice paddy herb)... I'd never seen or tasted rau om before. Its lemony-cuminish flavor works really well in a spicy red cabbage slaw.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who pointed the way to Sun Hop Fat. Compared to the shops in Oakland Chinatown, it has way more SE Asian stuff, and a much larger frozen food section. Overall produce selection is less strong, but it's going to be my first stop the next time I'm looking for SE Asian products.