THAI GREEN PAPAYA SALAD
Experience the quintessential taste of Thailand with this vibrant and zesty Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum Thai)! This classic street food dish perfectly balances spicy, sour, salty, and sweet flavours, featuring shredded green papaya, crunchy peanuts, long beans, and tomatoes. It’s a refreshing and healthy salad that’s surprisingly easy to make at home.
INGREDIENTS (FOR 1-2 PEOPLE)
- 1.5 – 2 cups Shredded Green Papaya (firm, unripe papaya)
- 1/4 cup Shredded Carrot (optional, for colour)
- 2-3 Long Beans (Yardlong Beans), cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4-5 Cherry Tomatoes, halved (or 1 small regular tomato, quartered)
- 1-3 Thai Chillies (Prik Kee Noo Suan), or to taste (adjust for spice level)
- 1-2 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp Dried Shrimp (optional, rinse if very salty)
- 1.5 – 2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts, roughly chopped (plus extra for garnish)
- 1 – 1.5 tbsp Palm Sugar, finely chopped or paste (adjust to taste)
- 1.5 – 2 tbsp Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)
- 2 – 2.5 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice (about 1-2 limes)
- Serve with: Fresh cabbage wedges, more long beans, Thai basil (optional)
Method
- Prepare Dressing Ingredients: In a clay mortar (or a sturdy bowl if you don’t have one), add the garlic and chillies. Pound with a pestle until they are roughly mashed and fragrant. If you like it very spicy, pound the chillies more finely.
- Add Beans & Dried Shrimp: Add the cut long beans and dried shrimp (if using) to the mortar. Pound lightly a few times just to bruise the beans and release their flavour – don’t mash them completely.
- Mix the Dressing: Add the palm sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice to the mortar. Stir and mash gently with the pestle and a spoon until the palm sugar is completely dissolved and the dressing is well combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning at this point: it should be a good balance of salty, sour, sweet, and spicy.
- Add Papaya & Other Vegetables: Add the shredded green papaya and shredded carrot (if using) to the mortar. Add the halved cherry tomatoes.
- Pound and Toss (The “Pok Pok”): Using the pestle in one hand and a large spoon in the other, gently pound the papaya while simultaneously using the spoon to scoop and toss the salad from the bottom up. This action (“pok pok”) helps to bruise the papaya slightly, allowing it to absorb the dressing, and mixes everything together without making the papaya mushy. Continue for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add Peanuts: Add most of the roasted peanuts to the mortar and toss a few more times to combine.
- Serve: Transfer the Som Tum Thai to a plate. Garnish with the remaining roasted peanuts. Serve immediately with fresh cabbage wedges, extra long beans, or Thai basil on the side, which are used to scoop up the salad or to cool down the spiciness.
UNRIPE GREEN PAPAYA (MALAGOR DIP)
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MIXED SMALL GREEN AND RED CHILLI (PRIK KI NOO PASOM)
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THAI GARLIC (KRA TEAM )
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Note
The key to a good Som Tum is fresh ingredients and balancing the four key Thai flavours: spicy, sour, salty, and sweet. Adjust the amount of chilli, lime juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar to your personal preference. Using a traditional clay mortar and wooden pestle enhances the experience and flavour, but a regular bowl and a muddler or the back of a sturdy spoon can work too.
For ultimate convenience, you can purchase ready-to-use PAPAYA SALAD DRESSING at talardthai.com. No need to spend a lot of time preparing the dressing, it’s delicious and ready in an instant!
