Leading people in Laos always use this rice (5)
I believe the answer is:
pilau
'this rice' is the definition.
(pilau is a type of rice)
'leading people in laos always use' is the wordplay.
'leading' indicates taking the first letters (the leading letter of the word).
The initial letters of 'people in laos always use' is 'PILAU'.
(Other definitions for pilau that I've seen before include "Eastern food" , "Indian rice recipe" , "Spicy rice dish from the East" , "Spiced rice dish" , "Rice cooked in seasoned broth" .)