Recipe – Green papaya salad (Som Tam or Som Tum)

INTRODUCTION

    Green papaya salad is the most popular dish in Thailand according to my Thai aunt’s sayings. It is a Northeastern food that is eaten with sticky rice and other Northeastern dishes such as laab, beef salad and bamboo shoot salad. In the meanwhile, you can also take it for dessert even not in meal. People of all ages and sexes accept it. The two most popular types of green papaya salad are dried shrimp and salted crab. Green papaya salad with dried shrimp and peanuts is called som tum thai. The green papaya salad with salted crab is called som tum pbooh. The majority of the ingredients are the same. My mother usually makes it with dried shrimp cause of the special smell of dried shrimp.

THE PREPARATION

    There are many ingredients that need to be prepared, including five cherry tomatoes, one tablespoon cut dried shrimps, two chili peppers, one and one half tablespoons fish sauce, one clove garlic, a green papaya without shredded, one tablespoon lime juice, one and one half tablespoons sugar, and two tablespoons peanuts. This recipe is for two servings. The preparation will take you nearly ten minutes, but the preparation including the whole steps only need about twenty minutes.

THE STEPS

    There are some steps that we can follow to do the dish. If you can buy a pre-shredded papaya, that is great because you can omit this step. First, you need to use a sharp knife to peel the green papaya, and slice it in half and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Then you cut the papaya lengthwise to make long strips or use the largest grater you have, grate the papaya, or you can use a potato peeler to make thin and ribbon-like strips. When you finish it, place it in a bowl. Second, you add a clove of garlic in another bowl, and pound with the pestle a few times to mash them; it will increase the dish’s taste. Third, you add chili peppers and crush them just enough to release the hotness, unless you want your salad really hot. Then, you add a part of the shredded green papaya, it will help to mix the garlic and chilies; and pound some more. However, you cannot pound the papaya too hard to make it soaked, it should be crunchy instead. Next, you add the sugar and add fish sauce; then pound some more again to mix the sugar and the sauce with other ingredients. For a vegetarian, you can omit the dried shrimps and use soy sauce instead of fish sauce. At the same time, you have to make sure everything in the bowl is well mixed; if not, pound some more to make it mix well. Soon, you add the half cherry tomatoes, and pound a few times to get the juice out of the tomatoes and let the juice mix with other ingredients. Now you add the lime juice and the chopped dried shrimps, and you need to make sure the shrimps are well mixed with the sauce. However, some people use tamarind in place of lime. At last step, you add the rest of the shredded green papaya and the peanuts. However, if you prefer the peanuts without, then it can be omitted. This dish is an individual dish that you will find out your unique taste. Finally, you need to pound all the ingredients at least they are well mixed while mixing with a spoon. There is a key point that you must remember is that you cannot pound the papaya too hard to make it soggy, because it should be crunchy. When you finish all the steps, you can dish this green papaya salad into a plate. Then it is the delicious green papaya salad.

THE REFLECTION

    Although the whole processes are simple and does not take so much time, the preparation for the ingredients is troublesome and time-consuming. Every time my mother makes this dish, she always needs many family members help her to cut the green papayas into ribbon-like strips. The affection for each family member unconsciously warmed and the relationship between each other are getting closer in a comfortable and pleasant family atmosphere. Take a mouthful of green papaya salad in a hot summer; the sour, sweet but a bit spicy taste will totally refresh you and make you feel just like in Thailand.