Thai Green Papaya Salad – Som Tam Recipe
Som Tam, or better known as Thai Green Papaya Salad, is after Pad Thai and Curry probably one of the most iconic Thai dishes, but can rarely be found in restaurants outside of Thailand. Unfortunately, I’ve never been to Thailand (yet, but it’s on my list), so I have never had the opportunity to taste the fresh, tangy spicy and authentic version of Thai Green Papaya Salad. How did I come up with a recipe of something I have never tasted before, you may ask? I did research. I watched clips on YouTube, read recipes, mixed and matched and tried it out a couple of different ways. And I came up with something delicious. While I am not sure that my Thai Green Papaya Salad is truly authentic, I also want to assure you that I didn’t just make it up on the go.
So why am I sharing a Thai Green Papaya Salad recipe with you guys then? Because I love to try new things. This is what living an international lifestyle is all about. I can’t hop on a plane to Southeast Asia right now, but I can go to the Asian Market and buy some Papaya, Fish sauce and some other exotic ingredients and bring a taste of Thailand home to me. How about you? What’s your excuse?
Thai Green Papaya Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small/medium green papaya (shredded, about 4-5 cups)
- 10 grape tomatoes or 1 medium tomato
- 7-8 green beans (raw)
- 2-5 Thai chilis (to taste)
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1/3 cup roasted peanuts
- 0.5x0.5 inch piece of tamarind pulp
- 1/4 cup water
- 1.5 tbsp palm sugar (I used brown sugar instead)
- 2 tbsp Fish Sauce (add more for a stronger taste)
- Lime juice of 1/2 large lime (about 2 tbsp)
- 4 tbsp dried shrimp
Instructions
- Shred your papaya in a food processor or with a mandolin, cheese shredder. The green papaya is still pretty firm, so a sharp blade is important. Don't cut yourself!
- Warm up 1/4 water and Tamarind pulp to medium hot temperature. Let soak for a few minutes and when it is cool enough to handle with your hands, massage tamarind pulp to separate pulp from seeds and fibers. Discard seeds and fibers.
- Stir in the sugar, lime juice and fish sauce and make the dressing.
- In a mortar and pestle, crush the roasted peanuts and set aside.
- Then add the garlic and Thai chilis to the mortar and pestle and pound slightly. Don't hit it too hard, you still want to see small chunks, not a paste. Add the dried shrimp and pound a little bit more. Add the dressing, the tomatoes and the beans and continue to mix and slightly bruise with the mortar and pestle.
- If your mortar and pestle is large enough, add the shredded papaya and pound more to combine and mix the flavors. My mortar and pestle is tiny, so I added everything to a stainless steel bowl and massaged it thoroughly with my hands, squishing it and really mixing it up. Add back 2/3 of the crushed peanuts, plate, sprinkle with remaining peanuts and enjoy!
Are you ready to try something new? I love cooking and trying new recipes and for me, going to an Asian or Middle Eastern super market is part of the fun. Take in the smells, look at the strange packaging, listen to the people speak in foreign languages. For me, this is as close as going to a foreign country as it gets. Living an International Lifestyle isn’t always about travel and jet setting around the world. You can experience other cultures, food and traditions even when you are at home. So have some fun in the kitchen and try my Thai Green Papaya Salad concoction and if you like it, let me know, what you think!
MariaAbroad is a Travel Blog to inspire you and show you cool places around the world. I'll share articles about travel, culture, and craft beer. Follow me along, as I adventure through the world, one beer at a time. Cheers!
Thank you for this! I live in Dubai and find it very hard to get some good Thai food. Will definitely have to try this recipe out.
I can imagine that a refreshing, but spicy salad like that would be a great choice on a hot day in Dubai. Luckily, Thai food is usually pretty simple to prepare and you can get great flavors, even at home. Let me know, how you like the Papaya Salad and greetings to the UAE 🙂
I love your spirit. If you can’t travel then why not bring travel into your life but trying international dishes. Very inspirational. I have had green papaya salad and it is delicious. I’ll bet yours is too.
Thank you Christine, I very much appreciate your comment. I try to make this the focus of my blog – Living an international lifestyle. This can mean so much: From travel to cooking dishes from around the world, talking to foreigners in your own city, reading books about far flung places, etc. Not everybody can be a full-time traveler and yet I do believe that everybody can experience the world through their own means and ways.
I hope you try the Thai Green Papaya Salad recipe one day and let me know what you think 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! I will have to try it come summer as it will remind me of my Thailand trip. The best papaya salad I had was the day we traveled to Ayutthaya. Washed down with a beer Leo in a shady cafe, it hit the spot after walking around looking at ruins all day.
Oh yes, I can see that. The combination of flavors and textures is refreshing, but also satisfying. Such a simple dish, but it really hits the spot, doesn’t it?
Love Green papaya salad. We can never find green papayas where I live but sub with green mangoes. This recipe looks great and I will be sure to try it out.
Hi Kerri,
I’ve never tried it with Green Mango, but that sounds delicious as well. Let me know how you like my recipe when you tried it, ok?
This green papaya salad looks yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You know another Thai food that’s hard to come by outside of Thailand? Larb Gai! Whenever I travel outside of Thailand I can’t seem to find it on the menu. Oh well, guess I’ll just have to start making it myself 🙂