When I think of salad the first thing in my mind is Som Tam and I’m so sure that many Thai people do the same. Som Tam is original from northeastern Thailand but folks in this area may call it as Som Tum Plara, Som Tam Lao or SomTam Easan. The main ingredient is “Plara” (fermented fish). Som Tum Plara tastes more salty and spicy. They don’t use sugar. Only some people like to add sugar.They eat it with Kao Neow (sticky rice) and local vegetables. In the Central of Thailand people call it Som Tam Thai which has peanuts and dried shrimp as the main ingredients. It tastes more sweet and sour.
Ingredients
2 cups shredded green papaya
½ cup shredded carrot
½ cup tomato
½ cup sting bean (cut into 1” long)
½ cup peanuts
1/3 cup dried shrip
5 cloves garlic
5 red chillies
1 ½ tablespoon palm sugar if not available can substitute it with regularsugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons lime juice
Cooking Instructions:
1. Put garlic and the chillies into a mortar and crush it with a pestle then add peanuts and dried shrimp and green bean continue crushing.
2. Add sugar, lime, fish sauce and tomato, continue beating with the pestle.
3. Finally add papaya and carrot and mix everything together. You may need to add fish sauce, sugar or lime as you like.
4. Serve with vegetables like sting bean, cabbage or any others that you like. Folks in northern or northeastern Thailand like to eat it with Kao Neow (sticky rice)and Gai Yang (grilled chicken).
Tips:
Normally, Som Tam Thai tastes like sweet and sour but you can do it as your favorite taste. Some people like to crush peanuts into very small pieces or some people just like to pour it at the end. You also can use tamarind juice together with lime juice it will get tastier. If you don’t have palm sugar you can use brown or white sugar.
