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Thai Food- Papaya/Mango Salad

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 6 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

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Yummy Yummy Som Tum Salad

 

Papaya salad is almost as much a staple part of my diet as rice is. For sure if I eat out and am not given any som tam (papaya salad in Thai), I will soon after be found at a roadside food vendor, correcting the deficiency.

If you lived on a diet of som tam and not much else, it is highly unlikely you would ever become fat. This green papaya salad is light, cooling, full of natural herbs and spices and is really nutritious.

You can find som tam (papaya salad) in all Thai restaurants and thousands of street vendors making this dish fresh infront of you in their carts. I reckon that som tum is the most eaten food here in Thailand.

Some restaurants use mango instead of papaya. Personally though I find mango to be too acidic for this purpose.

Som Tum Tasting Poll 

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This is what a green papaya looks like.

Som Tum Cooking Essentials 

6 Inch Stone Granite Mortar and Pestle 1.5 Cup Capacity

To crush and mix all the ingredients together.

Amazon Price: $32.95 (as of 10/12/2008)

Ingredients for this super awesome salad 

Ingredients to serve 4 people:

1 medium sized green papaya
4 small plum tomatoes
1 carrot
3 strands of green beans
10ml tamarind juice
25ml lime juice
2 cloves garlic
50gm prik kee noo (red chili peppers)
10gm brown sugar
25ml nam pla (fish sauce)
25gm dried shrimps
50gm unsalted roasted peanuts

Preparing your salad 

Peel the papaya and shred the green flesh (if you don't have a suitable implement for the purpose a coarse cheese grater may work).

Also peel and shred the carrot.

Chop the green beans into 1 inch pieces.

Put the shredded papaya and carrot in the fridge for a few minutes while preparing the other ingredients.

Soften the dried shrimp in a few mls of boiling water.

Pound the garlic and the red chili peppers together in a pestle and mortar.

Separately pound the peanuts together with the shrimp, but only until coarsely broken up, not reduced to dust or paste.

Mix the tamarind, juice, lime juice, fish sauce and the sugar.

Chop the tomatoes into quarters.

Now mix the shredded papaya, carrot with all the other ingredients and gently pound them together.

Mix all the ingredients together and serve in a bowl. Most restaurants would drain off some of the excess juice before serving, but I usually keep it.


Note: You should reduce the amount of red chili peppers used if you do not like it spicy.

Have a Bite!

What to eat with your salad 

Generally the som tum salad is eaten with sticky rice and grilled chicken. Thai's also have this with grilled or fried pork and green beans.

How To Make Papaya Salad Video Instruction 

THAI FOOD Papaya Salad (som dum)

http://www.thaifoodtonight.com for more Thai cooking video recipes. Dim and Cathy Geefay prepare a Thai salad that's popular on every streetcorner and restaurant in Thailand. Thai recipes, Thai ingredients, Thai cooking instructions included

Runtime: 7:27
58084 views
10 Comments:

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How do you like it? 

Green Papaya vs Raw Mango

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I prefer Green Papaya

Nzz says:

I like green papayas! Actually, I've tasted a similar papaya salad called "Atchara".

Mango for me

mulberry says:

I have to confess, I haven't tried papaya, but I know I like Mango.

 
 
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related info 

Healthy Som Tum Salad Buzz 

Thailand - My Favorite Foods
Som tum or papaya salad - som tum is a spicy salad consisting mostly of shredded fresh papaya with tomatoes, chilies, garlic, lime juice, and fish sauce. Thais love this dish SPICY, so be careful. Hoi tod - hoi tod is a mixture of egg ...
Thai Street Food
Som Tum - Spicy shredded green papaya salad with peanuts and tomatoes; Larb - Spicy minced meat with chopped shallots, onions, chilies and coriander; Khao Mun Gai - Steamed chicken with rice cooked in chicken stock and garlic ...
Easy Vegan Papaya Salad Recipe
Thai papaya salad, also called "som tum" is a fun and spicy side dish. Although in Thai cuisine, papaya salad is usually made with fish sauce and shrimp, this vegetarian som tum recipe has plenty of flavor as well. ...

Like Pappaya Salad? leave your comments here... 

Jimmie

I'm in Thailand right now and had this very dish with my lunch! I adore it!! It's cheap (from street vendors), nutritious, and delicious!

Posted October 07, 2008

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Rajays

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Som Tum has got to be one of the favourite food for the Thai's. Its simply great. Try it at home.

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