04/08/2026
Thum ma la ko, an easy Lao papaya salad recipe, offers an authentic taste with a flavorful dressing made from fermented fish sauce.
Ingredients
1 clove garlic
2 dried chilies, add to taste
2 chilies, add to taste
1 tsp shrimp paste
1/2 tbsp palm sugar
1/2 tsp MSG
1/2 lime
1 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 1/2 tbsp fermented fish sauce
1 1/2 cups or 7 oz green papaya, shredded
1/4 cup yard long beans, sliced
4 small tomatoes, halved or quartered
Instructions
Pound garlic and chilies with a mortar and pestle.
Pound in the shrimp paste, palm sugar, and MSG.
Mix in the dressing sauces: fish sauce, fermented fish sauce, lime juice, and tamarind paste.
Toss in sliced yard-long beans and shredded green papaya. Pound to mix and lightly bruise the beans.
Lastly, add sliced tomatoes and mix everything one last time. Serve immediately with sticky rice. 😋😋
