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Tam Mak Hoong

Name: Tam Mak Hoong
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Laos
Ingredients: 1/2 Green papaya; 1 Tomato; 4 Green beans; 2 cloves Garlic; 2-4 Red Chili Pepper; 2 tbsp Lime juice; 1 1/2 tbsp Fish sauce; 2 tsp Palm sugar; 1 tbsp Dried shrimp; 2 tbsp Peanuts

Side Dish

⏱ 20 min

👥 Serves 4

Difficulty ⭐

Shredded green papaya pounded in a mortar with chili, lime, and fish sauce — the spicy, sour salad born in Laos.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Tam mak hoong is the Lao green papaya salad said to be the original of Thailand's som tam. Shredded green papaya is pounded in a clay mortar with a wooden pestle and dressed with chili, garlic, tomato, lime, and padaek, a fermented fish sauce. It's more sour and funkier than the Thai version, with serious heat. The classic combo is sticky rice and grilled chicken.

🌆 Where it's eaten: At a stall along the Mekong in Vientiane, the rhythmic thump of the vendor's pestle rings out as fresh salad is handed over with sticky rice.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 4)

Green papaya 1/2
Tomato 1
Green beans 4
Garlic 2 cloves
Red Chili Pepper 2-4
Lime juice 2 tbsp
Fish sauce 1 1/2 tbsp
Palm sugar 2 tsp
Dried shrimp 1 tbsp
Peanuts 2 tbsp

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Peel the green papaya and shred into thin strips.
Lightly crush the garlic and red chili in a mortar.
Add the palm sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice and mix.
Add the green beans cut into 3cm lengths, tomato wedges, and dried shrimp and pound lightly.
Add the papaya and pound with the pestle while turning with a spoon to combine.
Plate and scatter with crushed peanuts.

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