Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad)

Name: Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad)
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: Thailand and Laos
Ingredients: 400 g (14 oz) green (unripe) papaya, peeled, seeded and finely shredded, about 4 cups; 2 cloves garlic; 2 Thai bird's-eye chilies, 1–4, to taste; 1 tbsp dried shrimp, optional; 30 g (2 tbsp) palm sugar or light brown sugar; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 60 ml (¼ cup) lime juice; 80 g (3 oz) long beans or green beans, cut into 3 cm lengths; 150 g (5 oz) cherry tomatoes, halved; 40 g (⅓ cup) roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly crushed; sticky rice and lettuce or cabbage wedges, to serve

Pounded green papaya with lime, fish sauce, chili and peanuts

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 20 min
Total: 20 min
Level: Some skill

Som tam is made in a mortar: garlic and chilies are pounded first, then the dressing and vegetables are bruised and tossed together so the shredded papaya absorbs it. The result is crunchy, sour, salty, hot and gently sweet all at once.

Ingredients

400 ggreen (unripe) papaya (14 oz)peeled, seeded and finely shredded, about 4 cups
2 clovesgarlic
2Thai bird's-eye chilies1–4, to taste
1 tbspdried shrimpoptional
30 gpalm sugar or light brown sugar (2 tbsp)
3 tbspfish sauce
60 mllime juice (¼ cup)
80 glong beans or green beans (3 oz)cut into 3 cm lengths
150 gcherry tomatoes (5 oz)halved
40 groasted unsalted peanuts (⅓ cup)roughly crushed
sticky rice and lettuce or cabbage wedgesto serve

Diet: Dairy-free, Gluten-free
Allergens: fish, peanuts, crustaceans
Origin: Thailand and Laos

Method

Soak the shredded papaya in iced water for 10 minutes to crisp it, then drain and dry well. 10 min
In a large mortar, pound the garlic and chilies to a rough paste. Add the dried shrimp and pound briefly.
Add the sugar and pound until it dissolves into the paste, then stir in the fish sauce and lime juice.
Add the beans and bruise them with a few gentle pounds. Add the tomatoes and press lightly so they release some juice.
Add the papaya and half the peanuts. Work it with the pestle in one hand and a spoon in the other, lightly bruising and turning, for about 1 minute. 1 min
Taste and balance: it should be sour, salty and hot first, sweet last. Pile onto a plate with the juices, top with the remaining peanuts and serve at once with sticky rice and crisp lettuce or cabbage.

Why it works

Pounding bruises the papaya and beans, opening their surfaces so the dressing seeps in instead of sliding off, while they keep their crunch. Dissolving the sugar into the pounded garlic and chili first ensures even seasoning. Iced water firms the papaya's cells so the salad stays crisp.

Common mistakes

Pounding the papaya to mush: be gentle — bruise, don't crush.
Not tasting: limes, fish sauces and chilies vary. Balance at the end.
Making it ahead: it weeps quickly. Make it to order.

Variations

No papaya, no mortar: Use 200 g each of shredded carrot and peeled, seeded cucumber or kohlrabi; crush the garlic and chili with salt on a board and toss everything in a bowl, squeezing with your hands.

Make ahead and storage

Shred the papaya up to 1 day ahead and keep in water in the fridge.

Notes

Green papaya is sold in Asian groceries; use a julienne peeler or the large holes of a grater. Without a mortar, see the variation. Crustaceans only if you add the dried shrimp.