Som Tum (Thai Green Papaya Salad): The Flavorful Zinger Dish!

Directions

• Preparation
• Choosing the method of pounding the salad-
  First, you must be prepared with the equipment suitable to pound the salad. The key to the taste of this salad is releasing the flavors of the ingredients by pounding. However, we use a mortar and pestle in our recipe. But, you have three possible options for this:
  – Use a mortar and pestle– This is the traditional method of making Som Tum. You can use a large mortar and pestle of clay or granite.
  – Using a large plastic bag- Put the ingredients inside a large plastic bag and pound generously using a wooden rolling pin.
  – A large bowl and a rolling pin- You will need a large bowl with a heavy bottom. Place the ingredients into the bowl and pound using the wooden rolling pin.
• Shredding the papaya-
  You can use two methods to shred the papaya. First, peel the skin off using a regular kitchen peeler, wash the papaya, and wipe it with a kitchen towel. Then:
  – Shredding with a knife- You can take a sharp knife and tap the fruit generously and deeper into the flesh to create some nice cuts. Hold the fruit, keeping your hand underneath the fruit, and be careful not to hurt your fingers. Once making the cuttings, you can angle your knife down and shave off the cuttings to make nice papaya shreds.
  – Using a julienne peeler- You can find a julienne peeler at your Asian grocery store or purchase it online. This is the safest and the most effective way of shredding your green papaya.
• For your salad to have more freshness and crunchiness, soak the shredded papaya in ice water for 10-15 minutes. Then, transfer them to the colander and drain the water. Move the shredded papaya into a kitchen towel and let it absorb the excess water content.
• In the meantime, take some regular water in a small bowl, put the dried shrimp, and let them soak for about five minutes.
  
  
• Let’s make Som Tum
• In the mortar, add the clove of garlic along with the Thai red chiles. Give them a pound until coarsely crushed.
• Next, add the palm sugar and pound until there are no more big chunks. By this time, your ingredients should have turned into a wet paste.
• Follow up with the pieces of long beans and pound again till they break down.
• Bring down the soaked shrimp out of the water, and add it to the pounded paste along with the roasted peanuts. Give everything a slight, good pound.
• Now, stir in the lime juice, fish sauce, and tamarind juice. Take a spoon and combine everything, folding, until everything comes together very well.
• Add the shredded papaya and follow the flip-and-pound method to combine everything. This means you need to flip your pestle across the mortar while pounding slightly.
• Finally, add the tomatoes and follow the same flip-and-pound method until the tomatoes are slightly crushed to release their juices into the salad.
• Get the spoon, give another good mix, and check the taste. If you think you need more seasonings, go ahead and adjust them at this point.
• Transfer the Som Tum to serving plates and serve alongside plain rice, Thai fried rice, fried chicken, grilled fish, or roasted meat.