Tulo

Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad) Recipe

A pounded Thai green papaya salad balancing spicy, sour, salty, and sweet flavors with lime, fish sauce, and peanuts.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels

Pounding rather than just tossing the ingredients in a mortar bruises the papaya, chilies, and garlic enough to release their juices and let the dressing actually penetrate the shreds, which is what separates real som tum from a papaya slaw with sauce poured over it.

Prep
25 min
Cook
0 min
Total
25 min
Servings
4

Ingredients

Servings4
  • 4 cups green (unripe) papaya, peeled and shredded
  • 3 cloves garlic cloves
  • 2 chilies Thai bird's eye chilies, to taste
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup long beans or green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 tbsp dried shrimp (optional)
  • 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 1/2 tbsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp fresh lime juice

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Instructions

  1. 1Peel the green papaya, remove the seeds, and shred it into thin matchsticks using a knife, mandoline, or grater.
  2. 2Pound the garlic and chilies together in a large mortar with a pestle until roughly broken down.
  3. 3Add the palm sugar and pound briefly to help it dissolve into the garlic and chili paste.
  4. 4Add the long beans and cherry tomatoes and lightly bruise them with a few gentle pounds, don't pulverize them.
  5. 5Pour in the fish sauce and lime juice and stir to combine, tasting the dressing at the bottom of the mortar.
  6. 6Add the shredded papaya and dried shrimp, if using, and use a spoon in one hand and the pestle in the other to pound and toss together, turning the salad over as you go.
  7. 7Continue pounding and tossing for a minute or two, until the papaya softens slightly and is well coated in the dressing.
  8. 8Taste and adjust the balance of sour, salty, sweet, and spicy with more lime, fish sauce, sugar, or chili as needed.
  9. 9Transfer to a plate and top with the chopped peanuts.

Tips & variations

  • No mortar and pestle, a large bowl and the end of a rolling pin or wooden spoon can approximate the bruising, though the texture won't be quite as authentic.
  • Green papaya can be hard to find, shredded green mango or a very firm green cabbage with an extra squeeze of lime are common substitutes.
  • Skip the dried shrimp for a vegetarian version, and substitute soy sauce or a mushroom-based fish sauce alternative for the fish sauce.
  • Add cooked rice noodles for som tum thua, a heartier variation that turns the salad into more of a meal.

Storage & reheating

Best eaten fresh within an hour of making, as green papaya releases water and turns soggy once dressed. If needed, store the shredded papaya and dressing separately in the fridge for up to a day and combine just before serving.

Nutrition

A light, low-calorie salad, most of its heft comes from fresh vegetables with just a modest amount of peanuts and dried shrimp for richness.

Tips from the Tulo kitchen

  • Soak shredded papaya in ice water for 10 minutes before dressing it, this crisps it up if it's sitting for a bit before serving.
  • Taste the dressing before adding the papaya, it's much easier to adjust the sour-salty-sweet-spicy balance in the mortar than after the whole salad is tossed together.

FAQ

What is green papaya and where do I find it?

It's an unripe papaya, firm and starchy rather than sweet, typically sold at Asian grocery stores, sometimes labeled simply as green papaya or as papaya for salad.

Do I need a mortar and pestle to make som tum?

It's the traditional tool and gives the best texture, but a sturdy bowl and a rolling pin end can substitute if you don't own one, the goal is just to bruise the ingredients rather than finely mince them.

How spicy is som tum typically?

It's traditionally quite spicy, built on Thai bird's eye chilies, but the heat is fully adjustable by using fewer chilies or removing their seeds.

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