Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam Thai)

Shredded green papaya pounded with garlic, chilli, lime and fish sauce, with peanuts, tomatoes and long beans.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 20 min
Total: 20 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
✅
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 small green papaya, about 400g, peeled and deseeded
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 3 bird's eye chillies
  • 2 tbsp dried shrimp
  • 50g long beans or green beans, cut into 3cm lengths
  • 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 3 tbsp unsalted roasted peanuts
  • 2 tbsp palm sugar or light brown soft sugar
  • 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • lettuce leaves and sticky rice, to serve

Method

  1. Shred the papaya into long, thin strands using a julienne peeler or the coarse side of a grater. Soak in iced water for 10 minutes for extra crunch, then drain and pat dry.

  2. In a large pestle and mortar, lightly pound the garlic and chillies. Add the palm sugar and dried shrimp and pound gently to break down the sugar.

  3. Add the long beans and bruise them lightly. Stir in the fish sauce and lime juice until the sugar dissolves.

  4. Add the papaya and tomatoes and pound gently, turning with a spoon, for about 1 minute until the papaya absorbs the dressing.

  5. Fold in half the peanuts. Taste and adjust: it should be hot, sour, salty and sweet.

  6. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves, scattered with the remaining peanuts, with sticky rice.