4. Green Papaya Salad (Tam Mak Hoong)
If coming from Thailand you should be familiar with Som Tam. Tam Mak Hoong is the Lao equivalent although the term Som Tam is easily interchangeable. This fiery green papaya salad brings the signature sweet, sour, salty and hot signatures of the region. Tam Mak Hoong easily recognised by large mortar and pestles and bright red tomatoes. In the large mortar and pestle strips of green (unripe) papaya are crunched together with a handful of basic ingredients including palm sugar, lime, fish sauce, peanuts and chillies.