In Bangkok, if you’re walking around and see carts hawking something that look like Italian arancini rice balls, drop what you’re doing and order some. You’ll most likely end up with this salad; it’s beyond fantastic. Originating in Laos, which has much in common with the Isaan food of north-east Thailand, it’s got all the bold flavours this part of the country is known for. To make the balls, cold cooked jasmine rice is mixed with dessicated coconut, shallots, chilli and garlic then bound with egg, formed into balls and fried until golden, crunchy and crispy. These get pulled apart, tossed with a pile of herbs, some pork skin and peanuts, then finished with a punchy, limey dressing. One of the best parts of this dish though is the fermented pork sausage, a speciality of Isaan. It’s made by raw-curing pork with pig’s skin, sticky rice, salt and chilli and the end result is deep pink and tastes deliciously sweet and porky. The idea with this dish is that, to eat it, you take a betel leaf or a lettuce leaf, put some rice ball and a bit of everything else over it along with the dressing, wrap it up then eat it with your hands.