Description
You love Som Tum, but have you ever made it at home? Try making Thai Papaya Salad in your own kitchen using this recipe! It’s easier than you think!
Ingredients
2–3 c. of unripe green papaya
2–3 garlic cloves
1–6 Thai chilies (depending on spice tolerance)
1–2 tbsp. palm sugar or brown sugar
1 c. long bean or green beans cut into 2 in. pieces
Fresh lime juice from 1-2 limes
1–2 tbsp. tamarind paste
1–2 tbsp. fish sauce
Handful of peanuts
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp. tiny dried shrimp (optional)
2–3 servings of shrimp (optional)
Instructions
1. Prep the Papaya: Peel the dark green skin off your unripe, green papaya. Then, using a traditional papaya shredder or a vegetable peeler, shred the papaya into shoestring-like strips. You’ll get around 2-3 cups of shredded papaya depending on the size.
Add the shredded papaya to a bowl full of ice cold water, and let it sit in the water for 10 minutes to help crisp up the papaya.
Then drain the papaya well in a strainer, and place it on a paper towel lined plate or baking sheet to get out the rest of the water. You want to drain it really well so no extra water will take away from the flavor.
2. Prepare the Dressing: In a large mortar and pestle, pound the 3 cloves of peeled garlic, and 1-6 fresh Thai chilies together until they form a fragrant paste. Don’t look down while pounding because a pepper seed might fly in your eye! Add the 1-2 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar and squish it with the pestle until it’s incorporated into the paste.
Add the 1 c. long bean or green beans cut into 2 in. pieces, fresh lime juice from 1-2 limes, 1-2 tbsp. tamarind paste, and 1–2 tbsp fish sauce. Continue to pound until the beans are slightly softened but still hold their shape.
3. Mix in the Veggies: Add the 2-3 cups of shredded papaya, 10 cherry tomatoes halved, handful of peanuts, and optional 1/4 c. dried shrimp to the mortar. Gently pound and mix the ingredients together with a large spoon until the papaya is softened and everything is well combined. You don’t want to pulverize the papaya! Just gently muddle and soften it some.
4. Taste and Adjust: Add more fish sauce, lime juice, or sugar to taste. The flavor should be a perfect balance of sour, spicy, salty, and sweet.
5. Serve and Enjoy: If you’re adding shrimp, cook them briefly (about 30 seconds) in boiling water, then mix them into the salad. Serve immediately and enjoy your delicious Som Tum Thai!
Notes
Recipe Tips and Tricks
Papaya Peeling Tip: A traditional Thai papaya shredder is the best tool for the job. But if you don’t have one, you can use a vegetable peeler or a knife to shred the papaya. It won’t be exactly the same, but it’ll still taste delicious!
Use a mortar and pestle: In Thailand they traditionally use this kind of clay mortar and pestle to make Som Tum, but I don’t have that one, so I like to use my large wooden mortar and pestle my Thai mother-n-law gave me.
If you only have a small mortar and pestle: Make the Thai chili, garlic and palm sugar paste in it, and add in the green beans. And then put all of it in a large mixing bowl, and use the pestle to pound the papaya as much as you can to soften it some. Or pound the papaya in batches in the small mortar.
If you don’t have a mortar and pestle at all: Add the garlic, Thai chili and palm sugar and a few tablespoons of hot water to a mini food chopper or food processor to make the paste. Or just use a knife to finely chop and mix as much as you can. Then add the paste to a large mixing bowl, and get out a rolling pin. Use the end of the rolling pin as your pestle, and follow the rest of the directions.
Make sure to use unripe green papaya: Never make it with ripe papaya because it wouldn’t shred and wouldn’t taste the same. If you can’t find unripe papaya, use carrot or cucumber like I do in my Carrot and Cucumber Som Tum.
Adjusting Spice Levels: If you’re not into super spicy food, you can still enjoy Som Tum! Just leave out the Thai chilis, or start with just one.
I like spicy, but my family can’t handle it, so I usually just put in one Thai chili, and make Nam Pla Prik, aka my Thai Spicy Flavor Bomb Sauce, to add more spiciness to my serving of it.
Additions and Substitutions
Green Papaya substitute: If you can’t find unripe papaya, you can make my Carrot and Cucumber Som Tum! We make that more often than traditional Som Tum since where we live it’s hard to find unripe papaya.
Fresh Thai Chili substitute: Fresh cayenne peppers or serrano chiles
Fish Sauce substitute:1/2 tbsp soy sauce + 1/2 tbsp vinegar of choice (except balsamic) + a pinch of salt, or coconut aminos.
Palm Sugar substitute: the same amount of brown sugar.
Dried Shrimp substitute: Omit or use shrimp paste.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Thai
- Method: Salad
- Cuisine: Thai
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3-4