Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum)

July 30, 2015

Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum) © kvalifood.com

Thailand’s most famous salad, from the Northeastern Isaan region. “Som” means sour in the Isaan dialect, “tum” means to pound - because the salad is traditionally made by pounding in a large mortar and pestle. The pounding serves multiple purposes: it grinds the garlic and chilies, releases juice from the tomatoes for the dressing, crushes the peanuts, and bruises the long beans so the dressing can penetrate.

Ingredients

Serves 2

2-3 cloves garlic
1-3 Thai chilies, to taste
2 Tbsp palm sugar, finely chopped, packed
60 ml roasted peanuts
5 long beans, cut into 2 ½ cm pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp dried shrimp, small (roughly chop if large)
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp tamarind juice
4 ¾ dl green papaya, peeled and julienned
1 ¾ dl grape tomatoes, halved

Directions

Pound the garlic and chilies into a paste in the mortar. Add the palm sugar and pound until mostly dissolved.

Add the peanuts, long beans, and dried shrimp. Pound to crush the peanuts and bruise the long beans, using a large spoon to flip the mixture occasionally.

Add the fish sauce, lime juice, and tamarind juice. Toss in the squeezed lime shell for extra flavour. Stir with a large spoon.

Add the tomatoes and papaya. Use the “pound and flip” technique: pound 3 to 5 times with the pestle, then flip the salad from bottom to top with a large spoon. Repeat a few more times until thoroughly mixed. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve at room temperature or chilled. Som tum is traditionally served with sticky rice and barbecued chicken.

Notes

Without a mortar and pestle: In a large bowl, combine the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind juice, and finely grated palm sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Grate the garlic and finely mince the chilies, add to the bowl. Roughly chop the peanuts and add them. Bruise the long beans with a rolling pin or bottle. Add the tomatoes and press gently to release some juice. Add the dried shrimp and papaya and toss everything together.
For a more adventurous version, substitute 1 Tbsp of the fish sauce with pla ra (fermented fish paste), a muddy grey paste available in jars at some Asian grocers.
Julienne the papaya with a julienne peeler or knife.
Leftover green papaya is versatile - it works well in sour curries (gaeng som) and stir-fries. Treat it like a firm vegetable such as carrot or broccoli.
The flavour profile varies by region, but it typically leads with sour, followed by salty and sweet. Adjust to your own preference.