🥗 Som Tam Thai
Som tam is a Thai salad of shredded unripe green papaya pounded in a mortar with tomatoes, chilli, garlic, lime juice and fish sauce, finished with roasted peanuts. It is crunchy and juicy, with a bold balance of sour, salty, sweet and fiery heat. It is usually eaten with sticky rice and grilled chicken, or on its own as a light meal.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g green papaya, peeled and shredded
- 2 small tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1–3 red chillies
- 2 garlic cloves
- 30 g roasted peanuts
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1½ tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
Method
- Pound the chillies and garlic in a mortar until roughly crushed.
- Add half the peanuts and pound lightly.
- Stir in the sugar, fish sauce and lime juice.
- Add the papaya and tomatoes and bruise them with the pestle while turning with a spoon.
- Taste for a balance of sour, salty, sweet and hot, then serve topped with the remaining peanuts.
How to make it lighter
- Go easy on the peanuts — 30 g peanuts ≈ 170 kcal.
- Reduce or skip the sugar and let the lime and tomato carry the flavour.
- Add extra shredded papaya or cucumber for more volume at very few calories.
History
Som tam comes from the Isan region of north-eastern Thailand and neighbouring Laos, where papaya salads are pounded fresh at markets and roadside stalls. The 'Thai' style, sweeter and made with peanuts, became the standard version in Bangkok and central Thailand.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →