Thai Som Tam Salad
4 servings
20 minutes
Thai cuisine is about spiciness, sweetness and freshness in one dish. Som tam salad is a clear example of this: green papaya is cut into thin strips, mixed with beans, and at the end everything is poured with palm sugar caramel and sprinkled with peanuts. And this recipe is a great reason to get acquainted with green papaya: while ripe papaya is eaten as a fruit, green papaya is used as a vegetable.
1
Prepare the necessary ingredients.
2
Grate the green papaya or cut it into thin strips.
3
Soaking in cold water will make the papaya crispy and remove excess starch.
4
Roast peanuts in a dry pan.
- Peanuts: 30 g
5
Slightly crush the peanuts in a mortar. Transfer to a separate plate. Leave some for decoration.
- Peanuts: 30 g
6
Chop the beans coarsely. The ends are not needed; it's better to throw them away. Instead of Thai beans, regular green beans can be used. In a mortar, grind the chili, peeled garlic cloves, and dried shrimp. Do not turn it into a paste; visible pieces should remain in the mortar.
- Kenyan green beans: 100 g
- Thai bird's eye chili: 3 pieces
- Garlic: 2 cloves
- Dried shrimp: 1 tablespoon
7
Add peanuts to the mixture and mix well.
- Peanuts: 30 g
8
Mix the papaya with hot sauce and mash well with a pestle or hands (in gloves) to absorb the flavors.
- Green papaya: 300 g
9
Melt palm sugar in a saucepan with a little water. Remove from heat when the sugar turns into a thick, shiny mass.
- Palm sugar: 70 g
- Lime: 0.5 piece
10
Squeeze juice from half a lime. Add caramel, tomatoes, beans, fish sauce, and lime juice to the papaya. Mix well and gently mash with a pestle.
- Lime: 0.5 piece
- Palm sugar: 70 g
- Cherry tomatoes: 7 pieces
- Kenyan green beans: 100 g
- Fish sauce: 1.5 tablespoon
11
Place on a large plate and sprinkle with peanuts on top.
- Peanuts: 30 g
