🌍World
Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad)
Thailand's famous crunchy green papaya salad — sharp, spicy, sweet and salty all at once. A true flavour explosion.
15 min
Prep
Easy
Difficulty
9
Ingredients
7
Steps
Ingredients
Servings
- 150 gm green (unripe) papaya, peeled and shredded
- 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tbspn roasted peanuts
- 1 clove garlic
- 1–2 Thai red chillies
- 1 tbspn fish sauce
- 1 tbspn lime juice
- 1 tspn sugar
- Long beans or green beans, cut into 2 cm pieces (optional)
Method
- 1
Using a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic and chillies to a rough paste.
- 2
Add the beans (if using) and pound briefly to bruise them.
- 3
Add the tomatoes and pound gently to break them slightly.
- 4
Add the shredded papaya, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar.
- 5
Toss and pound everything together briefly — you want the papaya to absorb the dressing but retain crunch.
- 6
Taste and adjust — it should be hot, sour, salty and sweet in balance.
- 7
Serve topped with peanuts.
Notes
- Green papaya is available in Asian supermarkets — it should be completely unripe and firm.
- Without a pestle and mortar, toss in a bowl and bruise with a spoon.
- The balance of flavours is key — keep tasting and adjusting.