Som Tam

Som Tam (Thai Green Papaya Salad)

Som tam is a vibrant Thai salad of shredded unripe papaya pounded with garlic, chillies, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar, then tossed with tomatoes, long beans and peanuts. The result is crisp, juicy and intensely sour, salty, sweet and spicy.

Prep

25 min

Total

25 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) green (unripe) papaya, peeled, seeded and shredded into fine strands; if unavailable, use green mango or carrot
• •4 cloves garlic, peeled
• •4 whole Thai bird's eye chillies, adjust to taste; deseed for less heat
• •2 tbsp palm sugar, finely chopped; substitute with light brown sugar if needed
• •3 tbsp fish sauce, Thai brand preferred
• •3 tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
• •100 g (3½ oz) long beans or green beans, cut into 2 cm (¾ in) lengths
• •150 g (5¼ oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
• •50 g (1¾ oz) roasted peanuts, unsalted, roughly crushed

Steps

1. 1 If using a clay mortar and wooden pestle, rinse and dry them. Add garlic and chillies to the mortar and pound to a coarse paste.
2. 2 Add palm sugar and pound until dissolved. Add fish sauce and lime juice, then pound and stir to combine into a dressing.
3. 3 Add long beans and pound lightly to bruise and release flavour. Add tomatoes and pound just until they burst slightly.
4. 4 Add shredded papaya in batches and pound gently while turning with a spoon, just until the strands are coated and slightly softened. Do not over-pound or the salad will become mushy.
5. 5 Taste and adjust with more lime juice, fish sauce or palm sugar to balance sour, salty and sweet. The salad should be bold and slightly intense.
6. 6 Transfer to a serving plate and scatter with crushed peanuts. Serve immediately with sticky rice and grilled chicken if desired.