Som Tum Thai – Lada's Kitchen

Green Papaya Salad or Som Tum is one of the most popular salad dishes in Thailand. This papaya salad is also eaten throughout Southeast Asia.
A traditional salad is made from finely grated unripe papaya, including ingredients such as lime juice, tomatoes, fresh red chilies, fish sauce, dried shrimp and roasted peanuts, which calls Som Tum Thai(ส้มตำไทย). But the green papaya with salted crab calls Som Tum Pbooh(ส้มตำปู).
In addition, som means sour and tum means pound by using a pestle and mortar. I like to eat the papaya salad with other dishes such as sticky rice:How to Cook Sticky Rice-Khao Niao (ข้าวเหนียว) and Thai Spicy Chicken Salad- Larb Gai (ลาบไก่). In Thailand they will serve this salad with fresh veggies such as thinly sliced cabbage, cucumber, and long bean. Are you are hungry? Let’s get cooking ka!

Ingredients

2.5 cups shredded green unripe papaya, I buy in Asian store
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/3 cup snake beans or green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic
2 Thai chilies
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon palm sugar or granulated sugar
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons dried shrimp
fresh vegetables such as Napa cabbage, cucumber, cabbage
steamed sticky rice for serving
1 tablespoon roasted peanuts for garnish

Instructions

Peel green papaya with a vegetable peeler. I prefer to use a hand shredder to shred the papaya and carrot. But some people use a knife cut into papaya multiple times and slice the thin layer off, cut long, and thin shreds. If you have a mandolin, use the grater attachment.

I use the hard wood pestle and mortar to make som tum. Put dried shrimp and roasted peanuts and pound until small pieces. Add green beans and pound roughly with garlic. Add papaya, carrot, and pound softly. Mix well by using a spoon to scrape down the sides. Add cherry tomatoes and season with palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and Thai chilies. Gently pound together until thoroughly mixed. I like to break chilies outside and put into the mortar. This way my salad is not too spicy. Adjust the seasoning. The salad should be a balance of sour, sweet, salt, and a little spicy taste. Place on a serving dish and serve som tum Thai with your favorite fresh veggies and sticky rice. Top with the roasted peanuts. Enjoy ka!