Som Tam green papaya salad with tomatoes, beans, chilli, lime and peanuts
Thai Recipe

Som Tam

For Som Tam, green papaya is cut into fine strips and mixed with a strong dressing of lime, fish sauce, palm sugar, chilli and garlic. The ingredients are not cooked but freshly crushed and served immediately.

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Total time 25 min
Calories 210 kcal
Servings 4 servings
Difficulty Easy
By the Published Updated Editorially approved

Why this recipe works

Som Tam to prepare crispy with green papaya

Som Tam is supposed to be crisp, sour, salty, sweet and sharp. The mortar is not used for purging, but for slightly stinging garlic, chilli, beans and tomatoes. So the papaya picks up the dressing without getting muddy.

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Recipe

Som Tam

Som Tam is a Thai green papaya salad with lime, fish sauce, palm sugar, chilli, garlic, green beans, tomatoes and peanuts. It is only slightly on the mortar.

Ingredients

4 servings

Method

  1. 1

    Prepare Papaya

    Peel, deseeded and chop green papaya into fine strips.

  2. 2

    Dressing mortars

    Crushed garlic and chilli in the mortar. Add palm sugar, lime juice and fish sauce and dissolve.

  3. 3

    Toast to vegetables

    Add beans and tomatoes and press only slightly to release juice, but do not disintegrate.

  4. 4

    Mix papaya

    Add papaya strips and optional dried shrimps. Loosely stomp and turn until the dressing is distributed.

  5. 5

    Serve crispy

    Sprinkle with peanuts and serve immediately with lime.

Kitchen know-how

Tips for Som Tam

Only slightly stomping

Som Tam is incited in the mortar, not pureed. Papaya and beans should remain crisp.

Make Dressing Strong

The dressing can taste intense at first, because papaya absorbs a lot of spice.

Serve immediately

Som Tam loses with time bite and pulls water. Best eat right after mixing.

Variations

How to adapt this recipe

Just leave out dried shrimp and season with a little more fish sauce or soy sauce if needed.

When green papaya is hard to get, replace a part with carrot. The taste becomes milder, but remains crisp.

Nutrition per serving

210kcal
28.0 gCarbohydrates
7.0 gProtein
8.0 gFat

Values are estimates per serving and may vary depending on the ingredients, brands, portion size and preparation method used.

Frequently asked questions

FAQ about Som Tam

You need immature green papaya. Mature orange papaya is too soft and too sweet for this salad.

You can prepare the ingredients, but you should mix the salad just before eating so it stays crisp.

No, Som Tam is a fresh salad. The ingredients are only toasted in the mortar and mixed with dressing.

Use less chilli and add more lime or some sugar. The heat is mainly in the dressing.

Keep cooking

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