Thai Som Tam Green Papaya Salad
Som tam is shredded green papaya pounded in a mortar with garlic, chilli, peanuts, fish sauce, lime and palm sugar. It is pounded, not tossed — pounding breaks the papaya fibres so they drink the dressing, where tossing leaves them dry.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- —
- Total
- 20 min
- Calories
- 140
"Som" means sour and "tam" means pound — the name describes the dish literally. It comes from Isan in north-eastern Thailand and has become the best-known Thai salad in the world. Eaten with sticky rice and grilled chicken.
Method
-
1
Prepare the papaya
Peel the green papaya and shred it into fine threads, then soak it in iced water for ten minutes so it crisps up. Drain it thoroughly.
⏱ 12 min -
2
Pound the base
Pound the garlic and chillies in a mortar into a coarse paste. Without a mortar, chop them finely and crush them with the back of a spoon.
⏱ 3 min -
3
Build the dressing
Add the fish sauce, lime and sugar and pound until the sugar dissolves. Taste it now — you should register all four flavours together.
⏱ 3 min -
4
Add beans and tomato
Add the long beans and tomatoes and pound with light taps only until they split, not until they are crushed. You want their juice in the dressing.
⏱ 2 min -
5
Add the papaya
Add the papaya and pound gently while turning it with a spoon, about twenty taps. The aim is for the threads to absorb the dressing, not to mash them.
⏱ 3 min -
6
Finish
Add the peanuts and dried shrimp and turn once more. Serve immediately — it releases water after half an hour.
⏱ 2 min
Cooked it? Rate it
Your rating tells the next cook whether this recipe is worth their time.
✓ Thanks — your rating is in.
Tips that actually matter
- Green papaya, not ripe. Ripe papaya is sweet and soft and simply does not work here.
- The available substitute is white cabbage and carrot shredded fine. The texture is close and the dressing carries the dish.
- Taste the dressing on its own before the papaya goes in and adjust it then — correcting afterwards is difficult.
- Eat it straight away. After half an hour the papaya weeps and the salad turns watery.
People also ask
I can't find green papaya. What now?
Finely shredded white cabbage and carrot. The crisp texture is very close, and the dressing is what makes the dish anyway.
Why pound rather than toss?
Pounding breaks the papaya fibres so they drink the dressing. Tossing leaves them dry with the dressing sitting at the bottom.
How do I adjust the balance?
Taste and ask: flat means more fish sauce; heavy means more lime; sharp means more palm sugar; dull means more chilli. Change one thing at a time.
What can replace fish sauce?
Light soy sauce with a pinch of salt. Not the same depth, but it works for a vegetarian version.
Cook mode
Thai Som Tam Green Papaya Salad
-
1
Prepare the papaya
Peel the green papaya and shred it into fine threads, then soak it in iced water for ten minutes so it crisps up. Drain it thoroughly.
-
2
Pound the base
Pound the garlic and chillies in a mortar into a coarse paste. Without a mortar, chop them finely and crush them with the back of a spoon.
-
3
Build the dressing
Add the fish sauce, lime and sugar and pound until the sugar dissolves. Taste it now — you should register all four flavours together.
-
4
Add beans and tomato
Add the long beans and tomatoes and pound with light taps only until they split, not until they are crushed. You want their juice in the dressing.
-
5
Add the papaya
Add the papaya and pound gently while turning it with a spoon, about twenty taps. The aim is for the threads to absorb the dressing, not to mash them.
-
6
Finish
Add the peanuts and dried shrimp and turn once more. Serve immediately — it releases water after half an hour.
Comments
Cooked it? Tell us how it went, or ask a question — we read every comment.