tam-mak-hoong
Next Dish: Lok Lak
Tam Mak Hoong is a traditional Lao salad, also popular in northeastern Thailand where it is known as Som Tam. The dish is primarily made from shredded unripe papaya, chili peppers, lime juice, fish sauce, and a variety of additional ingredients like tomatoes, green beans, garlic, and dried shrimp. Its flavor profile is a mix of spicy, sour, sweet, and salty, reflecting the overall cuisine of the region. It is typically served with sticky rice and eaten using hands.
Recipe
Ingredients:
3 green, unripe papayas
5 cloves of garlic
5 Thai bird chilies
1 tablespoon of shrimp paste
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of palm sugar
2 small tomatoes
A handful of long beans
A handful of cherry tomatoes
A handful of Thai basil
Instructions:
Peel the green papayas and rinse under cold water. Grate the papayas into long thin strips and set aside.
In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and chilies into a paste.
Add the shrimp paste, fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar to the mortar. Mix well until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Slice the tomatoes into thin pieces and add to the mortar. Pound lightly to release the juices.
Cut the long beans into 2 inch pieces and add to the mortar along with the cherry tomatoes. Pound lightly again.
Add the grated papaya to the mortar. Using a spoon and the pestle, mix and pound the ingredients together until well combined and the papaya takes on a slightly softer texture.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Add more fish sauce for saltiness, more lime juice for sourness, or more palm sugar for sweetness.
Add the Thai basil and give everything a final mix.
Serve immediately with sticky rice or as a side dish to your main meal.