The Lao New Year is in April, which is traditionally called Pi Mai. Technically it’s from April 14 to 16, but the fellas at Goldee’s Barbecue will be celebrating every Saturday in April by offering Lao sausage, sai oua. The sausage is a specialty from pitmaster, Nupohn Inthanousay.
There are only about 250,000 Laotians in America with the third-largest population (about 8,000) being in the DFW area. On the last Sunday of April, many across North Texas will gather at one of two locations in Rockwall or Saginaw to celebrate. “To see all of us come together and celebrate our culture, and each other is just cool to me,” Inthanousay says.
Nupohn Inthanousay (on left) with his brother Nudohn grew up eating Lao food and are infusing it into their work at Goldee's Barbecue.
Sean Welch
Before Goldee's opened, Nuphon and his friends sampled Lao spots in the area and fell in love with the flavors. He said he picked sausage to celebrate the Lao New Year because it just made sense as a way to combine the two cultures.
Nuphon's sai oua is made with lemongrass, lime leaves, cilantro, mint, basil, garlic, shallots “and love,” he says. The sausage is served with a side of sticky rice and jeow som, a spicy dipping sauce, which comes with a personal warning from Nuphon for literally everyone who orders it: beware of the kick.
The sauce is hot, but the fresh herbs in the sausage paired with sticky rice help control the heat and give it balance. If you’re looking for the perfect bite, take a slice of sausage, add a little mountain of sticky rice on top and dunk it in the jeow som. Co-owner and pitmaster Lane Milne advises ambitious foodies to try it with a bite of beef rib, rice and jeow som — a tip he gave us after we had already left, meaning now we have to go back.
Goldee's Barbecue, 4645 Dick Price Road (Fort Worth), 11 a.m to 3 p.m. Friday - Sunday
