Thai spicy salad vendors had a bizarre dancing contest with pestles and mortars.

Footage shows local cooks dressed in colourful traditional clothes while bopping with the cooking utensils in their hands in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast Thailand.

Organisers of the 'Leela Sathanpop Papaya Salad Contest' invited cooks to make the papaya salad dish using grated papaya, seafood, and spices.

The district's best papaya salad vendors were all present at the event to show off their tasty dishes to visitors.

The annual competition was organised to promote and preserve the local dish of the Isan people who are natives of northeastern Thailand. Students and villagers are also welcomed to join the event and show off their talent on stage.