Lao Tam Mak Hoong: Green Papaya Salad with Long Beans, Tomato and Lime

Peel the green papaya, halve it and scrape out the white seeds. Shred the flesh into long thin strands with a julienne peeler or by scoring and shaving it with a knife, then soak the strands in ice water for 10 minutes to crisp them and drain well.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 medium green (unripe) papaya, about 1 1/2 lb, peeled and shredded into long strands (6 cups)
• 6 long beans or 8 oz green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 8 oz ripe cherry or cocktail tomatoes, halved
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 to 4 fresh red or green bird's eye chilies, to taste
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp padaek (Lao fermented fish sauce) or extra fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar, shaved, or light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly crushed
• 1 small carrot, shredded (optional, for color)
• Fresh mint and cilantro leaves, to finish
• Steamed sticky rice and raw cabbage wedges, to serve

Instructions

1. Peel the green papaya, halve it and scrape out the white seeds. Shred the flesh into long thin strands with a julienne peeler or by scoring and shaving it with a knife, then soak the strands in ice water for 10 minutes to crisp them and drain well.
2. Blanch the long beans in boiling salted water for 60 seconds, then plunge them into ice water so they stay snappy and bright green. Drain and pat dry.
3. Put the garlic cloves and chilies in a large mortar and pound them to a coarse paste. Work slowly and stop before it turns smooth; you want texture, not puree.
4. Add the palm sugar and pound until it dissolves into the paste, then pour in the lime juice, fish sauce and padaek and stir with the pestle until the dressing is glossy.
5. Drop in the long beans and half of the tomatoes and bruise them lightly with the pestle, turning with a spoon after every few taps so they soften and release juice without collapsing.
6. Add the drained papaya and the carrot, if using, in two batches. Pound gently while turning the salad over with a spoon, just enough to bruise the strands so they drink up the dressing.
7. Fold in the remaining tomatoes and most of the crushed peanuts, then taste and adjust: more lime for brightness, more fish sauce for salt, more sugar to round it out. It should land loud on all four corners at once.
8. Pile the salad into a shallow bowl with all the dressing from the mortar, scatter the last peanuts over the top and finish with torn mint and cilantro.
9. Serve immediately with warm sticky rice and raw cabbage wedges for scooping, while the papaya still has snap.
10. Tam mak hoong is the daily lunch of Laos, pounded fresh to order at market stalls and in home kitchens, and it is bolder and funkier than the sweeter Thai som tam it is often confused with. The padaek is what makes it unmistakably Lao. Late summer is its moment in a northern garden: long beans and tomatoes are at their peak, and if you cannot find green papaya, an underripe firm melon, kohlrabi or shredded green cabbage takes the pounding just as well.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 218 kcal
• Protein: 7g
• Fat: 8g
• Carbohydrates: 32g
• Fiber: 7g
• Sugar: 18g
• Sodium: 890mg