Som Tam is a spicy Thai salad made from papaya. The papaya should be unripened and white inside. The dish combines 4 tastes – spice from the chillie, sweetness from the sugar, salt from the fish sauce, and sour from the lime.
This spicy papaya salad is a great snack, or side dish. Again its very healthy and meat free. Its usual in thailand for the customer to choose and add the ingredients themselves to suit their tastes, so why not play around the type and quantity of ingredients listed below until you find your ideal combination.
This dish is very quick to prepare, although it can be tricky finding the raw papaya.
Thai Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad) Ingredients
- Serves 2
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 red chillies
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of crushed peanut
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of lemon OR lime juice
- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 1 chopped tomato
- 1/4 cup chopped green beans
- 5 bird eye chillies
- 1/2 green papaya
Thai Som Tam (Spicy Papaya Salad) Cooking Instructions
Step 1: Peel the skin off the papaya, then wash thoroughly. Now grate the papaya
Step 2: Chop the tomatoes and garlic, and add to a large bowl (or mortar and pestle if you have one) Then slice the chillies length ways to open them up. Add to the bowl
Step 3: Slice and crush the green beans and add to the bowl
Step 4: Now add the shredded papaya, fish sauce, crushed peanuts, lemon juice and sugar. Mix everything together thoroughly
Step 5: If you dont have a mortar and pestle, use a spoon to mix everything, and make sure you crush the chillis to get the spice released. Do the same with all the ingredients.
Step 6: Once everything has been thoroughly mixed, you can serve and eat.
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