Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad)
Shredded green papaya pounded in a mortar with padaek, lime, chili, garlic, and tomato, the dark, funky, fiery Lao papaya salad.
Lao · easy · serves 2
prep 20 min · cook 0 min
~863 cal · 31g protein · 179g carbs · 3g fat · 25g fiber · 47g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Tam mak hoong is the Lao pounded green-papaya salad, made by bruising shredded unripe papaya in a tall mortar with garlic, chili, long beans, tomato, and lime. What sets the Lao version apart from Thai som tam is padaek, an unfiltered that is thicker and more pungent than ordinary and gives the salad its dark color and deep, savory funk. and sometimes crab paste push it further in that direction.
The verb 'tam' means to pound, and 'mak hoong' is the papaya; the point of the dish is the mortar work. The papaya is pounded only enough to bruise the strands so they soak up the dressing while keeping their crunch, and the salad leans salty, sour, and hot rather than sweet.
Eaten constantly across Laos with a basket of sticky rice pinched by hand, tam mak hoong is everyday food and a national obsession, often served alongside grilled chicken.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 2
4 cups green (unripe) papaya, shredded
Hard to find? shredded green (unripe) mango or kohlrabi - green mango brings the sourness, kohlrabi the wet crunch; papaya has both. Shred it just before pounding so it stays crisp
3 cloves garlic
2-6, to taste Thai bird's-eye chilies
2 tbsp padaek (Lao ), simmered and strained
1 tbsp
1 tsp (kapi)
1-2 tsp palm sugar
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup long beans (or green beans), cut in 2-inch lengths
1 lime, juiced
2 cups cooked sticky rice, to serve
Instructions
1
Shred the green papaya and drop the strands into cold water while you work, then drain them well.
✎ Chef’s note
Use a papaya that is rock-firm and heavy; if it gives at all it will be orange and sweet inside, which is the wrong fruit for this salad.
2
Simmer the padaek with a splash of water for a few minutes and strain out any solids, keeping the dark liquid.
✎ Chef’s note
Boiling the padaek tames its raw edge and is the safe way to use this fermented sauce; it still carries all the funk the salad needs.
3
Pound the garlic and chilies in a large mortar to a rough paste, then work in the palm sugar.
4
Add the strained padaek, fish sauce, and shrimp paste and stir to a dark, savory dressing.
5
Add the long beans and pound a few times to bruise them, then the tomatoes, pounded just until they release their juice.
6
Add the papaya in handfuls, pounding gently and turning with a spoon between strokes until the strands are dressed but still crunchy, then squeeze in the lime.
✎ Chef’s note
Pound down the sides of the mortar rather than into the middle, lifting and turning with a spoon; pounded hard or left to sit, the papaya goes limp.
7
Taste and adjust: it should be salty and sour first, then hot, with only a little sweetness. Serve straight away with sticky rice.
Lao market-stall and home style.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Luang Prabang. The town's own dishes are far more particular than Lao food in general: aor lam, a stew given a numbing edge by sakhan pepperwood; jaew bong, a chilli paste made with dried buffalo skin; and khai pen, weed lifted from the Mekong, pressed into sheets with sesame and garlic and dried, gathered only a few weeks a year.
🗺️
Laos. Laos eats more sticky rice than anywhere on earth, rolled by hand and dipped into fiery jaew sauces, larb salads, and grilled river fish. Fresh herbs, fermented fish, and bitter-hot flavors define an intensely regional cuisine.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Laos
Larb (Lao Herb & Meat Salad)Warm minced pork tossed with lime, fish sauce, chili flakes, toasted rice powder, and a garden of herbs.
Or LamA Luang Prabang herb stew of meat and vegetables thickened with sticky rice and buzzed with peppery sakhan vine.
Khao Piak SenA comforting Lao chicken noodle soup with soft, chewy hand-cut rice-tapioca noodles.
Browse all Laos recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Mortar and pestle.
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad)?
Shredded green papaya pounded in a mortar with padaek, lime, chili, garlic, and tomato, the dark, funky, fiery Lao papaya salad.
Where does Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad) come from?
Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad) is a Lao dish from Luang Prabang, Laos.
Can Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad) take to make?
About 20 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 2.
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