# 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.

**Thai Cuisine · 20 min · 3 servings · 140 kcal per serving**

"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.

## Ingredients


### The base
- 400 — Green papaya, shredded (or cabbage and carrot)
- 10 — Long beans, cut into lengths
- 2 — Cherry tomatoes, halved

### The sauce
- 4 — Garlic
- 3 — Small Thai chillies
- 2 — Fish sauce
- 2 — Lemon juice
- 1.5 — Palm sugar

### The finish
- 3 — Roasted peanuts
- 1 — Dried shrimp (optional)

## 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.
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.

## Tips

- 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.

## FAQ

### 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.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/thai-cuisine/thai-som-tam-papaya-salad
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-30