About this recipe
A pounded salad of shredded unripe papaya seasoned to a bright, hot, sour and faintly sweet balance. Som tam is beloved across Thailand but belongs to a shared Tai-Lao tradition; in Laos and much of Isan it is tam mak hoong, often seasoned with fermented fish (pla ra / padaek). This is the widely traveled Thai-Isan style.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 as a shared dish
- Prep
- 20 minutes
- Cook
- 0 minutes
- Total
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Hot (adjustable)
Allergens Contains fish (fish sauce) and shellfish (dried shrimp); peanuts as garnish. Vegan if fish sauce/dried shrimp/peanuts are omitted or replaced. Gluten-free.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (about 300 g) green (unripe) papaya, peeled and finely shredded
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2–5 fresh Thai chilies (to taste)
- 1.5 tbsp (22 g) palm sugar, chopped
- 2–3 tbsp (30–45 ml) fish sauce
- 2–3 tbsp (30–45 ml) fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) tamarind concentrate (optional, for roundness)
- 4 long beans (yardlong), cut into 1.5-in (4 cm) pieces
- 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tbsp (15 g) dried shrimp (optional)
- 3 tbsp (25 g) roasted peanuts
Equipment
- Large clay mortar and wooden pestle (or a sturdy bowl and pestle)
- Julienne peeler or knife
Method
- Pound the garlic and chilies to a rough paste in the mortar.
- Add the palm sugar and pound to dissolve; add fish sauce, lime juice and tamarind and stir to a dressing.
- Add the long beans and tomatoes; bruise lightly to release their juices.
- Add the papaya and dried shrimp. Pound gently with the pestle while turning with a spoon, just to bruise and coat — not to crush.
- Taste and adjust the four elements. Fold in most of the peanuts.
- Pile onto a plate and scatter with the remaining peanuts. Serve at once.
Uses from this chapter
- Nam Pla Prik (Fish Sauce with Chilies) (Condiments — C04) — Optional at the table for those who want extra salt and heat; the salad's dressing is built in.
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad) sits in the Thailand chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Thailand chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.