Thai Green Papaya Salad - Som Tum

- Serves 4
Thai Som Tam, the ever popular green papaya salad is the star of Thai street food and available practically on every single street corner in Bangkok. You have probably already seen many a street chefs whacking away on raw papaya with their sharp knives dropping slivers of the crunchy fruit in a bowl below; all made to order then and there! The action is shortly followed by pounding fresh herbs and spices in a large wooden mortar to make the perfectly sweet, sour and spicy fish sauce and lime dressing. This lip-smacking, umami-rich dressing is so versatile I often even use it on shredded cabbage chicken, green mango salad, steamed  fish, as a spicy dip with rice paper rolls and many other Asian recipes. 

Here is my easy-peasy lime squeezy home version of this recipe - all you need is a julienne peeler and your handy-dandy mortar and pestle! 

Ingredients for Thai Green Papaya Salad - Som Tum

1 small raw green papaya (you will need about 320g flesh)
1/2 carrot, peeled
2-3 green beans, cut in to match sticks 
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, for garnish
Dressing: 
2 tablespoons Thai dried shrimp 
1 garlic clove
1 fresh red bird’s eye chili, chopped
2 heaped tablespoons palm sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander, leaves and stems 
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or lemon juice
Special equipment required:
julienne peeler
mortar and pestle

Recipe
  1. Peel raw papaya and carrot, then using a zig-zag (julienne) peeler, peel into thin long strips. Use about 320g papaya flesh with 1/2 carrot.
  2. Place dried shrimp, garlic, red chili, sugar, and coriander in a large mortar, and bash using a pestle to make a coarse paste. 
  3. Next, add beans and cherry tomatoes - gently bash it a few more times. Add fish sauce, and lime juice - stir well.
  4. Pour dressing over shredded papaya and carrots - stir well to combine. Serve chilled garnished with roasted peanuts.
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