Som Tam (Papaya Salad)

Recipe by: Yakult Uploaded by Drimble Wedge

As it happens, I was having mad Thai food cravings last night and decided to attempt this for the first time. It came out fabulously - really close to the ones I used to get for 30 baht from little old ladies down the street.

I used neither shrimp paste nor soy sauce (whaaaat?? soy sauce should NEVER go in som tam). Try seeking out teeny dried shrimp instead; they'll give a MUCH better taste without adding a nasty texture. Black pepper would also be weird in there.

The trick with som tam is the balance of salty-hot-sweet-sour. Go lightly on these flavors at first, then slowly increase them to suit your taste buds.

You MUST use a mortar and pestle of some fashion, even if you have to fake it to some degree (I did - I only have a molcajete). The name "som tam" means "sour pounded" - you can't do it without the pounded part!

Here's my recipe.

imperative side dish: [rice] Adapted from [Loha-unchit’s recipe on thai-info.com], plus all my memories of watching little old ladies make it for me. "Sam prik ka. Poo mai ow."

makes: 4-5 servings

time: tricky one. I recommend prepping all the ingredients completely before putting any of them together, which should be done directly before you plan to serve. Prepping takes maybe 10 minutes if your papaya is pre-shredded, pounding perhaps 5-10 more. You can put together the first four ingredients and let them sit for a spell while you run around the kitchen; just don’t add the papaya until you’re ready to munch – it will juice out and get soggy.

• 4 Thai chilies (bird peppers), each cut into 3-4 segments – adjust this based on your spice tolerance. 4 gave a nice balance between my cravings for heat and my family’s suffering taste buds.
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut each into 2-3 pieces
• 1 T small dried shrimp
• 1/2 cup cut long beans
• 2 cups julienned peeled unripe papaya
• 1 julienned carrot
• Juice of 1-2 limes, to taste – I needed one – how juicy are your limes, baby?
• 1-2 T fish sauce, to taste
• 1-2 T palm sugar, melted with 1T water into a thick syrup – use as needed
• 1 small tomato, cut into bite-size wedges
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts

1. Using a large mortar with a wooden pestle (or whatever you have that you think will work…), pound the garlic and chillies to a paste. Add the dried shrimp and long beans and pound to bruise.

2. Follow with the green papaya and carrot. Stir well with a spoon and pound to bruise the vegetables so that they absorb the heat and flavor of the chillies and garlic.

3. Add the lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar – go light on them at first. Stir and pound a bit more to blend the vegetables with the flavorings and seasonings. Taste and adjust flavors to the desired hot-sour-sweet-salty combination. Then add the tomato pieces, stir and bruise lightly to blend in with the rest of the salad.

4. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve with sticky rice on the side.

NOTE: Som tam does not keep well – the flavors get way stronger and muddled, and the papaya loses its characteristic crunch. Make just what you think will be eaten straight away.