Recipe of Som Tam Fresh Salad From Thailand

A delicious Thai salad, Som Tam is a green papaya salad that combines all four tastes - sour, chilli, sweet and salty. A healthy and tasty treat for brunch, lunch or a casual light dinner.
This is an authentic way of preparing a spicy Thai papaya salad! “Let’s bruise thin papaya strips with garlic, chilies, palm sugar, lime, and fish sauce!” It’s a great chance for you to learn a real Thai recipe, and a spicy yet refreshing salad !

Som Tam Recipe below :

Ingredients for 2 servings

• 2 cups of shredded green papaya (or swede/rutabaga)
• 2 tbs of toasted peanuts
• 2 cloves of peeled garlic
• 1-2 fresh birds eye chili (or more depending on tolerance)
• 1 tbs of dried shrimp
• ½ piece palm sugar
• 7 cherry tomatoes
• juice of ½ lime
• 1½ tbs of fish sauce
• 1-2 tbs Thai snake beans (or green beans) cut into 1 inch sticks

Directions

1. Roughly crush a small handful of unsalted peanuts with mortar and pestle. Set aside. Wipe the mortar and pestle clean.
2. Melt palm sugar in a small pan at low or medium heat, adding 2 tbs of water. The cooking process should form a shiny and thick syrup. This makes it easier to mix the sugar with the salad.
3. Peel the papaya (or swede), shred it with a shredder (or a mandolin slicer) to thin strips and soak them in cold water while you prepare the rest of the salad. This makes the papaya crunchier and gets rid of any excess starch from the swede.
4. Cut the green beans into one-inch pieces. Throw away the endings.
5. Take the chilies and peeled garlic and give them a gentle bash with mortar and pestle. You still ought to see bits and pieces, not a puree. Add the shrimp and continue bashing. Add the crushed peanuts and mix well.
6. Add the shredded papaya and continue bashing, but not too hard. Just enough so the mixture soaks up the flavours. Use a bigger spoon as a support tool, that way you can shift the salad in the mortar and it doesn’t fall out while bashing and mixing.
7. Add the liquid palm sugar, tomatoes, beans, lime juice and fish sauce. Continue to lightly bash, shift with the spoon, and mix a little more.
8. Serve on a big dish or bowl, sprinkle some crushed peanuts on top! 

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