Som Tam (aka Green Papaya Salad) is the most popular salad in Thailand. You will find it on every restaurant menu and in small food carts and stalls throughout the country. The papaya fruit, in its un-ripened form, takes on the qualities of a crisp and refreshing vegetable, similar to cucumber. It is the perfect lunch on a hot sunny day and goes marvellously with barbequed chicken. The recipe is surprisingly simple and easy to recreate at home.
Som Tam - Green Papaya Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients:
500g Fresh Green Papaya
4 Garlic Cloves
1 tsp Small Dried Shrimps
1-4 Small fresh red or green chilis (Depending how spicy you like it)
4 Snake Beans/Chinese Long Beans
1 Carrot, shredded
2 Tomatoes, sliced into thin wedges
2 tbsp Roasted peanuts
Dressing:
4 tbsp Fish sauce
2 tbsp Sugar
4 tbsp Fresh squeezed lime juice
Optional Accompaniments:
Cucumber slices
Cabbage leaves
Thai sticky rice
Method:
First prepare your papaya. Peel the skin off, cut the papaya in half and remove the seeds. You can then use a mandolin on a julienne setting, or a box grater to create long thin strands. This can also be done by hand. Set aside.
Use a mortar and pestle to grind the garlic into a paste. If you want to include the dried shrimps, and them to the paste and give them a bash. Add your chilis and pound again. Then add the long beans and give them a light smash. Now stir in your green papaya and carrot and pound it all together. Finally add your tomatoes and use the pestle to stir them in, breaking them up slightly.
Now mix together your fish sauce, lime juice and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over the other ingredients and stir it all together. Taste for seasoning and serve with cucumber slices, cabbage leaves or sticky rice.