Som Tam Green Papaya Salad
Shredded unripe papaya pounded in a mortar with garlic, chile, palm sugar, lime and fish sauce, plus long beans and tomato. Sour, salty, sweet and hot, bruised rather than tossed.
- 1
Pound the garlic and chiles to a coarse paste in a large clay or wooden mortar. Work slowly at first so the chiles do not fly out.
- 2
Add the dried shrimp and palm sugar and pound until the sugar has broken down, then stir in the lime juice and fish sauce with the pestle.
- 3
Drop in the long beans and give them four or five light pounds, just enough to crack them open.
- 4
Add the cherry tomatoes and pound once or twice so they release their juice into the dressing without turning to pulp.
- 5
Add the shredded papaya in two additions. Pound lightly with one hand while turning the salad up from the bottom with a spoon in the other, about 1 minute, until the strands are limp and coated.
- 6
Taste and adjust the sour, salty, sweet and hot balance. Add the peanuts, toss once, and serve right away before the papaya softens.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 Thai bird chiles
- 2 tablespoons dried shrimp
- 2 tablespoons palm sugar, chopped
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 cup long beans, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 cups green papaya, peeled, seeded and shredded
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
- 1
Pound the garlic and chiles to a coarse paste in a large clay or wooden mortar. Work slowly at first so the chiles do not fly out.
- 2
Add the dried shrimp and palm sugar and pound until the sugar has broken down, then stir in the lime juice and fish sauce with the pestle.
- 3
Drop in the long beans and give them four or five light pounds, just enough to crack them open.
- 4
Add the cherry tomatoes and pound once or twice so they release their juice into the dressing without turning to pulp.
- 5
Add the shredded papaya in two additions. Pound lightly with one hand while turning the salad up from the bottom with a spoon in the other, about 1 minute, until the strands are limp and coated.
- 6
Taste and adjust the sour, salty, sweet and hot balance. Add the peanuts, toss once, and serve right away before the papaya softens.