Lao-style green papaya salad with pla ra (som tam lao)

Peel the green papaya, removing all the dark green skin, which is bitter.

Julienne traditionally: hold the papaya in a towel, chop many vertical incisions over the surface with a chef's knife, shave off a thin layer, and repeat.

Variation: shred with a Thai julienne peeler, chopping up the first matted layer, or hand slice into thin pieces and cut into sticks.

Julienne a carrot and add a handful to the papaya.

In the mortar, pound garlic and fresh and dried Thai chilies to a rough paste with no large chunks.

Add finely chopped palm sugar and pound a few times until it turns into a paste that dissolves.

Add long beans and pound just until they crack.

Add tomatoes and bruise them so the juices come out; scrape the sugar up from the bottom with a spoon.

Squeeze in fresh lime juice and drop in a few of the skins; add tamarind paste, fish sauce, pla ra and a little sprinkle of MSG; mix.

Add the papaya and carrot, then pound and flip: flip to coat with dressing, pound a couple of times, repeat briefly to bruise the papaya so it absorbs the dressing.

Top with pumpkin seeds.

Variation without a mortar: stir chopped palm sugar into fish sauce and lime juice until mostly dissolved, smash the lumps with a spoon, then add tamarind, pla ra and MSG.

Variation: grate the garlic into a mixing bowl (or press it), add finely minced chilies, beans whacked until split and cut into pieces, and tomatoes; mash with gloved hands, add the dressing, then the papaya and massage to bruise it.

Serve with sticky rice.