🥗 Lao green papaya salad (tam mak hoong)

Name: Lao green papaya salad (tam mak hoong)
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Laos
Ingredients: 300 g green papaya, peeled and shredded; 2–4 bird's eye chillies; 1–2 tbsp padaek (fermented fish sauce); 1 lime, juiced; 6 cherry tomatoes, halved; 2 small Thai eggplants, sliced; 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp sugar

Origin: Laos

100kcal

per serving · 200 g

50kcal

per 100 g

4 gProtein2 g / 100 g

2 gFat1 g / 100 g

18 gCarbs9 g / 100 g

Tam mak hoong is the Lao version of green papaya salad: shredded unripe papaya pounded in a mortar with chillies, lime, tomatoes and small eggplants, seasoned with padaek, a pungent fermented fish sauce. It is crunchy, sour, very spicy and deeply savoury, and is eaten with sticky rice and grilled meat.

Diets

✓

No pork

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Low-carb9 g carbs per 100 g

Not vegetarianbecause of: fermented fish

Not veganbecause of: fermented fish

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Fish

What it is made of

green papayafermented fishchili pepperlimetomatoeggplant

Recipe

2 servings15 min

Ingredients

300 g green papaya, peeled and shredded
2–4 bird's eye chillies
1–2 tbsp padaek (fermented fish sauce)
1 lime, juiced
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 small Thai eggplants, sliced
1 garlic clove, 1 tsp sugar

Method

Pound the garlic and chillies in a large mortar.
Add the eggplant and tomatoes and bruise them lightly.
Add the papaya and pound gently, turning with a spoon so it softens but stays crunchy.
Season with padaek, lime juice and sugar, mix and taste.
Serve straight away.

How to make it lighter

The salad itself is light; sticky rice adds most of the calories, so keep it to a small ball.
Go easy on sugar — the papaya and tomatoes bring enough sweetness.
Add extra shredded papaya and tomato for a bigger, still-light portion.

History

Pounded papaya salad is a staple of Laos and of Isan in north-eastern Thailand, a region with strong Lao cultural ties. The Lao style is known for its funkier, saltier taste from padaek, compared with the sweeter Thai som tam. It is sold at markets and street stalls throughout the country.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Lao green papaya salad (tam mak hoong) and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →