Som Tam
A fiery, tangy green papaya salad pounded in a mortar with chilli, garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, and dried shrimp — Thailand's most-ordered street salad.
Cuisines
Thai
Best for
Lunch
Dinner
Recipe
Prep: 15 min
2-3 servings
Ingredients
| 1 cup | green papaya, shredded |
| 5 | cherry tomatoes, halved |
| 2 cloves | garlic, peeled |
| 2 | bird's eye chilies |
| 2 tablespoons | fish sauce |
| 1 tablespoon | lime juice |
| 1 tablespoon | palm sugar |
| 2 tablespoons | roasted peanuts |
| 4 | long beans, cut into 1-inch pieces |
| 1 | carrot, shredded |
| 1 | small lime, cut into wedges |
Instructions
- 1 In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and chilies until they are roughly crushed.
- 2 Add the palm sugar and continue to pound until it dissolves.
- 3 Add the fish sauce and lime juice, and mix well.
- 4 Add the shredded green papaya, carrot, cherry tomatoes, and long beans to the mortar.
- 5 Gently pound and mix the ingredients together, ensuring the vegetables are well coated with the dressing.
- 6 Add the roasted peanuts and mix again.
- 7 Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce, lime juice, or sugar as needed.
- 8 Serve the Som Tam on a plate with lime wedges on the side.
Tips
For a more authentic flavor, use a traditional clay mortar and wooden pestle. Adjust the number of chilies to your preferred spice level.