Spicy Papaya Salad (Tam mak hoong)

On the menu for Wednesday night's dinner, I decided to dish up some Asian cuisine. So with my trusty marinate, who's recipe I will take to my grave, I decided to create an Asian barbecue style chicken over brown rice and tam mak hoong, which is a traditional Laotian salad made with shredded unripened papaya mixed in a large deep mortar and pestle called a "khok", in which you put in chili peppers, fresh cut tomatoes, fish sauce and other Asian ingredients. Though my secret Asian marinate recipe is top-secret, I've decided to share the interesting way of making tam mak hoong. I love and crave for it occasionally with its' distinct taste of Laotian cuisine consisting of sweet, sour, salty, spicy and the unripened papaya's crunchy texture. People differentiate the way they make it depending on one's taste. Some prefer theirs more spicy or more sweet etc. There's also a Thai version of it called Som Tam, which to me is a sweeter version. Provided is the following tools and ingredients used to make a traditional Laotian tam mak hoong. To watch a video on how to make this delicious and interesting dish, click on the link.

Kitchen utensils

• Khok or mortar and pestle
• Vegetable peeler
• Grater

Ingredients

• Chili peppers
• Garlic
• Sugar
• Padaek
• Fish sauce
• Shrimp paste
• Brined crabs
• Lime
• Hog plums
• Tomatoes
• Yard-long beans

Follow this link to view a video on How to make tam mak hoong