Pra (Pla Ra)
The making of Pra or Pla ra begins with cleaning fresh fish, rubbing it with salt, and stuffing it into a jar topped with bamboo bracts or betel palm bracts. It has to be left for 2 months. During that time, the juice from the fish will come out and it can be filtered and kept as a seasoning. The fermented fish will be mixed with finely-ground roasted unmilled rice and kept for another 6-8 months before it is ready to be eaten. It is an ingredient in a variety of dishes and it is considered an old way of preserving food which continues to the present time.