Truly appreciate the research and recognition of the papaya salad as a Lao dish. As a land locked developing country there has been too much appropriation of the Lao culture. Great to get one back! Thanks.
Crab and shrimp paste are totally different , shrimp paste is slightly musty , while crab is very pungent most ppl use double shrimp paste as crab , but i only use crab paste normally and my wife uses neither just more pedaek
The shape of the chopped papaya flesh is VERY important, guys. Like you see in the street food stalls everywhere, no one uses machineries, just to chop it by hand. The texture of the papaya flesh is unique this way and can provide its best taste in the dish. Btw, the purpose of the wax on the surface of the schrimp paste is to prevent the strong pungent smell to come out before opening. We do have only crab paste, not with the shrimps which are too value for our daily nutrition (the ones in the markets they are all imported).
I was born in Laos came to USA when I was 5 and didn’t remember anything about LAOS I’m enjoy watching your video you guys are different than others you tubers in LAOS and keep doing what you doing .you guys seem like a very kool couple and you in the right country LAOS is more friendly country many Asian in the European country are getting discriminated because of the COVID-19 many peoples thinking all Asian are Chinese
Thank you for doing this video and pointing out credit where credit is due. Papaya Salad, Sticky Rice and Laab are Lao national dishes. There have even been documentation on these cooking traditions from the first European explorers when they have set foot into the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang as far back as the 17th century. But for some reason, people and their nationalistic pride (especially coming from neighboring modern day states) have a hard time giving Lao people the credit we deserve for our huge culinary contributions (that far extends beyond modern Lao borders). Lao people are tired of other nationals dismissing us and making blanket basis statements (ie, papaya isn’t native to Laos so there it cannot be a traditional Lao dish or Your country has no access to the sea, so therefore those items have to come through Thailand first, so therefore it must be Thai, etc). If you go by that logic then I guess modern Korean Kimchi isn’t originally Korean or Tomatoes don’t belong In Italian food. This is crazy logic! I don’t care for the nationalistic brainwashing (especially coming from Western Lao who would rather call themselves Isaan now), but just because something is popular in neighboring countries, doesn’t mean it originated there. Mexican food is popular in the U.S., but it still doesn’t make it American food.
You guy did a great job I am so proud of you guys You can cook Lao food and IAM very happy you guy learning how to cook Asian food Looking very good food
I really like the papaye salad. My mom usually cut some little slices lengthwise and all around before using the grater, the slices are leaner. So good to follow you
The long strips is the Luang Prabang style Tam Mark Hung. I want more crunch so I think the big strips are floppy. You know it. You want the fried pork skin (chicharron here). It's CRUNCHY!! 555
I'm late to this video. 😁 Looked pretty good for your first try. Like one of the comments said before definitely scrape off the wax from the gappee (shrimp paste). The wax is to help seal the strong smell from escaping from its container. I like my thum mauk hoong pretty spicy, sweet and sour. Us Lao people have this saying, "Baw phet baw sap." If it's not spicy it's not good. 🤤 I add sugar to my thum mauk hoong cause I like it tasting sweeter. Of course mine has padak (fermented fish sauce) along with the fish sauce and crab paste.When you squeeze the limes try not to mix the juices from the lime and its rind together or else it'll taste bitter. You can thum anything from cabbage, vermicelli noodles to pho. You were okay with the mixture of carrots, I rarely use them myself. The way they you sliced up the green papaya is very popular in the Luang Prabang area. Love your videos.
I wonder does it taste better with shrimp paste WAX? It needs to be removed, I think they use it to seal out the smell!!!but again little bit of wax won’t hurt
555 Ignorance. When you start from zero. A lot of Falang in Lao don't seem to like the local food at all. Like Gordon Ramsay says about someone that tried to open a vegetarian restaurant in France where they love MEAT, especially the beef steak. Go figure.
U did a great job, but on the shrimp paste , u not supposed to put the wax in. Is was made to keep the shrimp paste fresh. U supposed to take it our and throw it away.
I just heard you had some supporters from Winnipeg. keep the Lao cooking shows going. when you buy rice, always ask for "bai tong" or bannana leaves. discourage plastic bags. it makes the rice smell better and you won't have to worry about BPA
A nice first attempt.. How my wife would’ve chopped up the papaya would’ve kept the thing in one piece.. use your knife and do quick chips into it then perpendicular to the papaya..then shave the slivers off and then pound the living daylights outta the entire mix..sticky rice plus roast chicken .. we usually eat it with Pork rind puff things that make a major crunch.. and use it like a spoon to scoop up the yummyness 😋
1. Normally you suppose to chop the papaya and then slice it. 2. That shrimp paste you must remove the candle wax from the top. It is not fat as you misunderstanding. The actual shrimp paste is under the candle wax. Throw away the candle wax. But great job for doing papaya first time.
You must know by now that the shrimp paste in the container is covered by wax as sealant. We're screaming at our screen telling you not to scoop the wax in.
It is wax and not fat on the top of the shrimp paste (which is called ‘kapi’ in Lao in case you need to ask for it again). You are supposed to scrape the layer of wax off before using it.😆 As a cooking suggestion, try making the other most traditional dish of Laos - laap - or koi pa. It isn’t as hard as you might think (except for all the chopping!) and really delicious when freshly made at home.
You guys are awesome and lucky Mario and Olivia living in Lao, cooking Lao food and enjoy eating it, (my favorite part) drinking Lao beer hahaha. You both have done and tried everything in Lao but only one thing I would like to see is speaking a few Lao words in each video. It would be so awesome :)
Please dont forget to remove the wax and you forgot msg for your papaya salad, otherwise, pretty good for first time :). I would suggest watching youtube how to make papaya salad!!!
It must be really hard coming up with new content during Lockdown but you 2 guys always do something crazy...love it! My 13 yr old daughter in Issan eats that Papaya Pok Pok with (cornflakes as a side dish) for breakfast.
Hey guys! We saw your comment on our video, and although we didn't reply (we haven't been replying to any comments for a day or two really), just know it meant a lot to us! We really appreciate what you said. Thanks
Hello M and O. Good 1st attempt at TMH. Up In Luang Prabang, they actually prefer larger strips of Papaya which is also very popular. By the way, the opaque stuff on the shrimp paste is wax. It seals the pungent smell in. A question: why didn’t u mix the salad in the mortar??
Yes Olivia I think one chilli would have been enough. 🤣😊 As for Mario's "it's virtually all blue sky and one little black cloud"......ha ha . The Papaya Salad looked super......just wished I could have joined ya, 👍👍😊😊
as the first timer I'd forgive you for the crime that you've committed lol just kidding but really as a Lao person watching this it's like a torture but again this is the first time you doing it so I won't be saying much but I'd recommended getting a bigger pestle and you're missing the main ingredient that make the dish Lao which is Padak or fermented fish sauce, adding just a little of it can enhance the overall taste even more, of course it's a little smelly but give it a try. as for the papaya...well you can learn the trick from the local seller
Looks so good. We never used more than one red chili pepper though. If you used the mortar and pestle to mix the papaya with all other ingredients, it would taste even better. Your tum mak hoong version looks more like the Luang Prabang style because of the long and larger size of the papaya strips. As for the origin of papaya salad, it's definitely Lao. Before 1970, only the ethnic Lao people of Laos and Isaan (Northeastern Thailand) enjoyed this dish. It has since become also so popular in the central (Bangkok) and other parts of Thailand and known as Som Tum (the reversal of tum som or tum mak hoong known in Laos and Isaan) that its origin has been questioned and contested. Even, a Thai historian Sujit Vongthes came up with new but unsupported theory about its Thai origin in 2014. Now the dish can be found in Cambodia and Myanmar as well. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_papaya_salad
Everything and anything that’s Thai originated from Lao people, they stole culture and stole land, hell even Lao alphabet. The mor you know. Papaya salad originated from Lao folk.
Love papaya salad i live in the very rural areas of the UK can't find any green papaya at any so i use carrot instead but i still prefer green papaya love them ate everyday when i was visited Laos and Thailand xxxxx
Not bad for first timer. I’ve make papaya salad few times before, but only I can eat it because none in my family like it 😂 . Keep it up guys hope you get more fc/supports from all Laotian in this planet earth.
This is my all time favourite salad and top ten dish over all. Unfortunately I am Canadian and now live in a small city where there is zero green papaya. Closest one is a 3 hour drive away in Vancouver. Now I use green cabbage. Still delicious but not the same. I use a microplane instead of the mortar and pestle. Thanks for the vid! Happy Travels
You don’t put salt in papaya salad, the fish sauce is salty enough, but yeah more fish sauce, The style your making is lounprabang style with the long flat pieces with a lot of shrimp paste, Papaya salad is a Lao dish, the parts in Thailand that make papaya salad are the ethnic Lao regions in Thailand, not sure if you know this but the majority population of Thailand are actually ethnic Lao people, but every place has its own style, just as in Laos different regions have different ways and different ingredients, Vietnamese is very bland.
