Thai Green Papaya Salad Recipe

Thai Green Papaya Salad, or Som Tum, is a very popular Thai salad dish. The word “som” means sour, and “tum” means to pound. It’s super refreshing, savory, sweet, tangy, and spicy! Let’s get started!

Thai Green Papaya Salad Recipe

Serving: 2
Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
2 ½ cups green papaya, julienned
2 cloves garlic
1 green bird’s eye chili
½ red finger hot pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons palm sugar, or replace with granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 medium lime, cut into wedges
1 tablespoon small dried shrimp
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, separated
2 green beans, cut into 2 inches pieces, or green beans
½ cup grape tomatoes, halved

Thai Green Papaya Salad Instructions

1. Place a paper towel around it (so it isn’t slippery). Hold the papaya with your non-dominant hand. Use a shape knife to chop it all around with your dominant hand. Then shave down the papaya. (Alternatively, we could use a julienne peeler.)
2. To make the green papaya crunchier, in a large bowl of cold water, place them inside. Soak for 5 minutes. Drain.
3. In a mortar, add the garlic, green bird’s eye chili, and red finger hot pepper (I couldn’t find any red bird’s eye chili in my local supermarkets, so I’m replacing it with red finger hot pepper.) Use a pestle and pound them until they become small chunks. (Alternatively, we could also mince the ingredients with a knife, and toss them in a mixing bowl.)
4. Add in the palm sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice. Reserve 2 lime peels. Pound until the sugar is dissolved.
5. Place in the reserved lime peels, dried shrimp, half of the peanuts, and long beans. Pound and break them down slightly.
6. Transfer the green papaya and grape tomatoes inside. Pound slightly and mix everything together.
7. Lastly, sprinkle with the rest of the peanuts. Serve!