Som Tam

Name: Som Tam
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 400 g green (unripe) papaya, peeled and finely julienned; 4 cherry tomatoes, halved; 2 long beans (yardlong) or 4 green beans, cut into 4 cm lengths; 2 garlic cloves, peeled; 2 bird's eye chillies (or to taste); 2 tbsp palm sugar; 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce; Juice of 1 lime; 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate; 1 tbsp dried shrimp; 2 tbsp roasted peanuts (some crushed, some whole); Iceberg lettuce or cabbage leaves to serve (optional, traditional)

Isaan salad of shredded green papaya, pounded in a mortar with garlic, chilli, lime, tamarind and fish sauce.

Total time30m

Active time20m

Servings4

DifficultyEasy

Cost$$

Add to my meal plan

🧉

The clay krok mortar

A tool of seasoning, not destruction — bruise, don't pulverise

🌶️

Four flavours at once

Sour, salty, sweet and chilli-fierce, all in every bite

🥭

Green papaya julienne

Crisp shreds that drink the dressing

🥜

Peanuts two ways

Whole for crunch, crushed for body

Ingredients 4 servings

400 g green (unripe) papaya, peeled and finely julienned
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 long beans (yardlong) or 4 green beans, cut into 4 cm lengths
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 bird's eye chillies (or to taste)
2 tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
1 tbsp dried shrimp
2 tbsp roasted peanuts (some crushed, some whole)
Iceberg lettuce or cabbage leaves to serve (optional, traditional)

How to make it

1In a clay krok or sturdy stone mortar, pound the garlic and chillies together until bruised — not pulverised, just opened up — then add the palm sugar and pound a few more times to dissolve it into the chilli oil.
2Pour in the fish sauce, lime juice and tamarind, stir with the pestle until the sugar dissolves, then tip in the dried shrimp and pound a couple of times to flatten them into the dressing.
3Add the long beans and tomato halves and pound gently — five or six taps each, just enough to bruise them and release their juices into the dressing — the pestle here is a tool of seasoning, not destruction.
4Tip in the shredded papaya in two batches, alternating light pounding with turning everything with a spoon until each strand is glossy with the dressing but still crisp, then add the peanuts (whole for crunch, crushed for body) and toss one last time.
5Taste — Som Tam should hit four flavours at once: sour, salty, sweet and chilli-fierce — then pile into shallow bowls or onto lettuce leaves and eat immediately with sticky rice or grilled chicken.