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Som Tam Recipe

Hello Unregistered,

Som Tam, ส้มตำ or papaya salad is derived from the Lao dish called Tam mak hoong and is probably one of the most common dishes served in Isaan, to say it is Spicy would be an understatement, made from unripened papaya it is available from food stalls and restaurants all over Thailand.
There are 2 main versions of som tam, one with dried shrimp, the other with brined/salted crab (the salted crab quite often has high level of bacteria which may cause us lessor mortals to get an upset stomach).
To shred the papaya it's probably best to use a cheese grater, in Thailand the traditional way is of course with a big chopping knife.
You can also use other firm fruits and vegetables to make different variations of this dish, apple is a good choice for the western palate, with less chillies and without the crab and shrimp.

You can learn to order Thai food in Thai with our free video tutorials, this tutorial is on ordering food at a Thai restaurant, we have many other Thai language tutorials here.

More som tam video recipes

* Papaya Bok Bok
* Papaya Salad
* Som Tam Thai
* 3 Som Tam Recipes
* Som Tam Bla Rah

Som Tam Ingredients

* 2 cups of peeled shredded unripe papaya
* 1-2 cloves of garlic peeled
* 1 lime (or to taste)
* 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
* small Thai chillies (to taste)
* 4-6 cherry tomatoes sliced into wedges
* 1 tablespoon fish sauce
* 1/2 cup of green beans chopped
* 1 small brined crab (broken) or 1 tablespoon of dried shrimp

Making Som Tam

Pound chilli, garlic and sugar in your mortar, add tomatoe wedges and gently bruise, add lime juice, fish sauce, crab, mix and do a taste test, mix in green beans and papaya, serve with sticky rice.

Tip

Carrot is also a good addition to this dish.

Other Thai Recipes You May Enjoy

Laab Moo - Sun Dried Beef - Nam Tok - Pad Thai - Thai Curried Prawns - Thai Green Curry - Thai Fried Rice - Spicy Thai Beef Salad - Thai Stir Fry with Holy Basil - Spicy Ginger with Beef Stir Fry - Fried Prawns & Cauliflower - Sweet an Sour Chicken - Tom Yum Goong - Beef in Oyster Sauce - Thai Spring Rolls - Chicken Satay - Thai Cucumber Salad - Thai Desserts - Indian Chicken Curry