Thai Green Papaya Salad Recipe (Som Tam)
This light and refreshing Thai Green Papaya Salad Recipe (Som Tam) taste just like the one you tasted at one of the restaurants in Thailand. Check out my post for lots of tips and tricks to make this in the most authentic way in your kitchen.
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
For The Dressing
- 2 tablespoons oil use any cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce skip for vegan
- 2 teaspoons palm sugar or brown sugar, coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 Thai bird eye chili finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
For The Salad
- 1 and ½ cups shredded green papaya
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 2-3 long beans or 4-5 green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
- ½ cup moong bean sprouts
- ¼ cup crushed toasted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
Make The Dressing
- Stir together oil, lime juice, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, palm sugar, garlic, Thai bird’s eye chili, and salt in a small bowl to make the dressing.
- Soak green papaya and carrot in ice water for 10-15 minutes until they are firmer.
Make The Salad
- Drain the water and place the shredded papaya and carrots on a plate lined with 2 layers of paper towel to absorb excess water.
- You want to have as little water on the papaya and carrot as possible so as to not dilute the dressing.
- Add beans to a large mortar and pestle and gently bruises them.
- Transfer the papaya and carrot to a large mixing bowl along with bruised beans, moong bean sprouts, peanuts, and cilantro, and toss well.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat the vegetables with the dressing.
- Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Refrigerate the salad for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Chopped dried shrimp gives a very unique flavor to this salad and they are traditionally added to this recipe. I am personally not a fan of dried shrimp so did not include them but you must definitely add a tablespoon of chopped dried shrimp along with the veggies.
If Thai chilies are not easily available, use red pepper flakes instead.
For a vegan papaya salad, skip adding fish sauce and chopped dried shrimp, and to make it gluten-free, replace soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos. You can replace brown sugar with honey or maple syrup.
Nutrition
Calories: 349kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 690mg | Potassium: 691mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 6872IU | Vitamin C: 121mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 2mg
