Lunch · 20 min · thai

Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)

If you like green papaya, you’ll love this Thai lunch — 20 minutes from craving to table.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 1 Green papaya
• 1 cup Cherry tomatoes
• 6 Long beans
• 1/4 cup Roasted peanuts
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 3 Thai chilies
• 3 tbsp Lime juice
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce
• 2 tbsp Palm sugar

Steps

1. Peel the green papaya and shred it on the large holes of a box grater, or julienne it into matchsticks with a sharp knife. You want crisp ribbons, not mush. A firm, unripe papaya is non-negotiable here.
2. Drop the garlic and chilies into a large mortar and pound them into a coarse paste. Add the palm sugar and pound again until it dissolves into the garlic. This is the flavor base of the whole salad.
3. Pour in the lime juice and fish sauce and stir to combine. Taste the dressing with a piece of papaya: it should hit sour, salty, sweet, and heat in that order, each one making you want another bite.
4. Add the long beans, cut into 2-inch pieces, and bruise them lightly with the pestle, just enough to crack them open so they drink up the dressing. Toss in the halved cherry tomatoes and press gently until they just start to give.
5. Add the shredded papaya and toss everything together with a spoon and your hands until every strand glistens. Let it sit 5 minutes so the flavors marry.
6. Pile onto a platter, shower with roasted peanuts, and serve immediately. Som tum waits for no one. It is at its peak the moment it leaves the mortar.

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