Som Tam Recipe (Thai Green Papaya Salad)

thai green papaya salad garnished with fresh cilantro and roasted peanuts in a black le creuset dish with a wooden spoon

5 from 7 votes

Som Tam Recipe (Thai Green Papaya Salad)

Som Tam is a vibrant Thai salad made with shredded green papaya, tossed in a tangy, spicy, and slightly sweet dressing of tamarind, lemon juice, soy sauce, palm sugar, and chilies. Traditionally, the dressing ingredients - garlic, roasted peanuts, tomatoes, and seasonings are pounded using a mortar and pestle, giving the salad its signature balance of textures and flavors.

Prep Time15

Cook Time0

Total Time15

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Thai

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 470kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For tamarind water

½ teaspoon tamarind - dried
2 tablespoons water

Other ingredients

2.5 cups or (400 grams) unripe papaya - shredded
½ teaspoon garlic - chopped
3 to 4 bird's eye chillies - can add less or more as required
1 tomato - small sized or 2 to 3 cherry tomatoes
2 to 3 long beans or green beans, optional
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons soy sauce - naturally brewed or fermented
2 tablespoons palm sugar or as required
2 tablespoons lemon juice or as required
sea salt as per taste

For garnish

1 tablespoon roasted peanuts - chopped or crushed peanuts
1 to 2 tablespoons cilantro - optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Making tamarind water

For tamarind water, soak the dried tamarind in the hot water for 15 to 20 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind and add the pulp to the water. Set aside.

Grating green papaya

Rinse, pat dry and peel the unripe green papaya. Halve it vertically. Remove any of the tiny white seeds and pith. Grate or shred using a food processor or a box grater.

Making salad dressing

In a mortar, take the birds eye chillies and garlic cloves. Using a pestle and mortar, mash the bird's eye chilies and garlic together. If using long beans, then add 2 to 3 beans (chopped) at this step.
Add the prepared tamarind water, palm sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice and sea salt as needed to the mortar. Mash and mix everything to a loose paste.
Add chopped tomato or halved cherry tomatoes. Mash the tomatoes a bit, but not too much.

Making papaya salad

Pour dressing mixture in the bowl containing the shredded papaya. Mix very well and mash a bit to soften the unripe papaya. Check the taste and add more salt, palm sugar, lemon juice, crushed bird's eye chillies or tamarind pulp if needed.

Serving suggestions

Serve garnished with chopped roasted peanuts and cilantro.
Som tam tastes awesome as it is. But you can choose to serve it as a side or as a starter with a Thai main course.
The papaya salad flavors pair well with pan fried tofu, fried rice, stir fried noodles, grilled or sautéed mushrooms, tofu steaks, or fresh, blanched, sautéed or roasted vegetables like carrots, potatoes, brussels sprouts, corn on the cobs, cabbage, green beans, cauliflower, bell pepper or lettuce.

Storage

The salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to one day.
You can eat it cold or let it come to room temperature before serving.

Notes

The spices, seasonings and sweeteners can be adjusted to your tastes.
Add more lemon juice if you do not have tamarind or tamarind paste or sauce.
You could use Bragg liquid aminos or tamari in place of soy sauce.
I have not added long beans as we do not eat raw beans. But you can add these green beans if you like.
Additionally add carrots to the papaya salad if you like them.
Opt to use table salt or kosher salt instead of sea salt. You could even use pink salt.
If using packaged tamarind pulp, sauce or paste, then add ½ to 1 tablespoon or according to taste depending on the inherent sourness in it.

Nutrition