tam mak hoong

Laos · Southeast Asia

Plate of shredded green papaya salad with tomatoes, long beans, eggplant, chili, and crushed peanuts.
tam mak hoong

Tam mak hoong is a Lao salad of shredded unripe papaya pounded with a spicy, savoury dressing. Saeng Douangdara’s version pounds garlic and fresh and dried chillies with salt in a mortar. Shrimp paste, black crab paste, padaek fermented fish seasoning, fish sauce, tamarind and sugar form the dressing. Green papaya is added, followed by tomatoes and lime. The black crab paste and padaek contribute to the dark sauce.[1]

The papaya remains crisp and can be eaten with sticky rice and grilled chicken. Douangdara describes cooks adjusting the chilli, sweetness, sourness and pungency to the diner’s taste. His listed additions include round eggplants, shredded carrots, vermicelli, meatballs and long beans; these are variations rather than ingredients required in every salad.[1]

References

Sources checked:

  1. Lao Papaya Salad | Thum Mak Hoong — Saeng Douangdara / Saeng’s Kitchen
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Lao green papaya salad

creator:
Jpatokal
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CC BY-SA 4.0
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Cropped and resized for Gochizu.

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