The majority of Lanna people eat sticky rice, or khao nueng, together with other food such as kaeng om, kaeng phak, chio phak khom, chio khai mot daeng, cho phak kat or phak plang (rubra). Rice and food were pickled by hand before wooden or coconut spoons were invented and metal spoons were introduced during the reign of King Rama V of the Rattanakosin Dynasty ( Mani Phayomyong, 2548, 460). First the clean hand would reach for the sticky rice and form it into a small ball of a bite size before dipping it into curry or other dishes and put into the mouth. The forming of the sticky rice depends on each individual’s style and habit, but one has to make sure the rice ball is firm enough not to fall apart when dipped into the kaeng. A few ways are recommended here.
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