Thai Green Papaya Salad Aka Som Tam Food

THAI GREEN PAPAYA SALAD AKA SOM TAM

Steps:

• Pound garlic until fine.
• Add garlic, lime juice, fish sauce,brown sugar in a bowl.
• Mix well.
• Add papaya, tomato wedges and chili into a big mixing bowl.
• Stir in the garlic mixture into papaya bowl (item 3).
• Adjust seasoning if necessary.
• It should be mixture of sweet, sour and salty.
• Toss in dried shrimp, groundnut and cashew nut.
• Served with long beans, cabbage or other raw vegetables.

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD (SOM TUM)

Steps:

• In a blender or mortar, blend or pound garlic, salt, peanuts, chilies, sugar and shrimp (if using) into a paste. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in lime juice and fish sauce. Use a spoon (or the mortar) to lightly crush tomatoes and beans (if using), then add to bowl and mix lightly.
• Peel and coarsely grate or shred papaya, discarding seeds and inner membrane. There should be 4 to 6 cups.
• Add papaya to bowl and lightly but thoroughly toss together. Taste for seasoning. Mound in a bowl (if desired, line bowl with lettuce leaves beforehand). Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.
• Note: If green papaya is unavailable, use an equivalent amount of coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots).

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD (SOM TAM MALAKOR)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place peanuts on a baking sheet.
• Toast in the preheated oven until fragrant and browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
• Grind roasted peanuts, Thai chilies, garlic, dried shrimp, and sugar in a mortar and pestle or food processor. Stir in lime juice and fish sauce to make dressing.
• Toss papaya, tomatoes, green beans, and carrot with dressing. Season with salt and pepper.

PAPAYA SALAD (SOM TAM)

Steps:

• Cut off both ends of papaya. Use a vegetable peeler to remove green skin. To shred the papaya, hold it in one hand and use a knife to rapidly chop long, shallow cuts into the surface (making sure all the cuts run lengthwise, in the same direction). Then, thinly slice off the top layer into a bowl. This Thai method of shredding results in papaya strands that are pleasingly irregular and rustic. (Once you get the hang of it, it gets easier and you'll get much faster, but another option is to use a peeler with a shredding blade.) Shred ⅓-½ of the papaya, about 2 loosely packed cups; make sure there are no seeds.(Reserve the rest of the papaya for a different use, or for additional servings of papaya salad.)
• Salad: Place the clay mortar on a towel to keep it stable. To the mortar, add garlic, chiles, and softened palm sugar. Using a long spoon (to mix) and the pestle (to pound), pound and mix the chiles and garlic to break them up, about 10 seconds. Add two quartered pieces of Key lime, and continue pounding and mixing just enough to release juices, 10 seconds. (From this point on, pound lightly to bruise the ingredients and release flavors; do not smash.) Add shrimp; pound lightly, then mix for 5 seconds.
• Trim the long beans and slice into 2½-inch pieces; you should have about ¼ cup of long beans. Add to the mortar; pound lightly to bruise, then mix for 5 more seconds. Add papaya, fish sauce, tamarind water, and lime juice. (To make tamarind water from tamarind pulp: boil 1 cup water and 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp; let cool for 30 minutes; strain.) Use the pestle to lightly pound the salad to the bottom of the mortar, and the spoon to turn the salad over, about 1 minute. Add halved cherry tomatoes, lightly pound, then mix, 10 seconds; add peanuts and toss with the spoon. (Do not pound the peanuts, as they will release oil and make the salad greasy).
• Serve: Place cabbage wedge on the edge of a serving platter. Arrange papaya salad on platter and serve immediately.