One of my favourite meals, which is definately in my Top 10, is Som Tam, otherwise known as Papaya Salad.
The meal is quite simple to make. The main ingredients are shredded green papaya, chopped green beans, tomoato, dried prawns, unsalted roasted peanuts, chillies, garlic and lime juice. These are all pounded together in a mortar using a pestle. The sound it makes is “pok pok”. Whenever I hear that sound while walking down the street I always turnaround to look for the som tam stall.
The papaya salad is best served with sticky rice (khao neow) and grilled chicken. That is the way I like it. But you can have fish instead. There is also a recipe which has crab.
When you come to buy Papaya Salad, it is nearly always prepared in front of you. This way you can tell them how many chillies you want! I like mine hot. Papaya Salad with sticky rice from a roadside stall will cost you about 20 baht.
[b]Recipe:[/b]
1 medium dark green papaya
4 garlic cloves (kratiem)
6 green Thai chilies (prik khee noo)
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup chopped green beans, in 1-in (2.5-cm) pieces
2 tablespoons anchovy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sauce
1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) lime juice or tamarind juice (ma-kaam piag)
[b]How to make:[/b]
1. Peel the papaya and rinse with running water to remove the acid. Remove the seeds and shred the papaya with a grater. Set aside.
2. Place the garlic cloves and the chilies in a mortar and mash with a pestle until crushed into chunks. Place the papaya and the remaining ingredients in the mortar and gently combine all ingredients by mixing with the pestle and a spoon. Serve cold.
[i]Source: “Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook” by Panurat Poladitmontr[/I]
The picture of Som Tam, glutenous rice and roasted chicken make my saliver flow and my stomach looking for foods. I think that the best combination is as the above picture. When I was working in Thailand, I usally take Som Tam with a group of friends and we like it spicy hot. Som Tam should be taken slowly and it goes well with beer also. Can somebody tell me where is the best Som Tam in Thailand ? Thanks
Surich: Well! it is hard to tell really. It seems to me that Som Tam is on the menu everywhere in Thailand. I think it depends on personal preferences. But if you pass by the ‘Sarm Yan’ market, near the Chulalongkorn University, 3 shops around the market, to me, are Aroy’
.
Though Richard doesn’t like sweetness in food, allow me to include one more ingredient (na na na): ‘palm sugar’. I don’t like sweet taste either, but a little bit of palm sugar makes Som Tam nicer. If you like very hot and spicy Som Tam, “Red’ chillies will do the job.
Please note that: to protect your stomach, always have Som Tam with one of any meats. That way papaya acid will not digest your stomach. But if you like to make raw beef quickly tender in 20-30 minutes e.g. for BBQ, papaya acid will surely do the magic.
‘Cha-rean Ar-harn Na’.
Dear Richard,
Can we see some photoes of your new office?
Best regards,
ummm….. Looks so yummy.
One of the best dishes in the world. Definately, the spiciest.
oh.. Papaya pok-pok, one of my favorites too! I like it best with sticky rice as well. I think this is one of the Thai delicacies that all visitors should taste!
sripan, I wish I knew about your warning before! In Isaan, I had som tam with only sticky rice quite a few times (checking for stomach ulcers) lol.
So I am coming to Thailand in June. I love Som Tam in the United States. Do you have any other wonderful foods to recommend? What are the Thai words to say when ordering. Thank you.
oh i love papaya salad! i eat it all the time when i have nothing to eat or nothing to make!!! but dang the photos up there is sure making me hungry!!!!
all i can say is yum yum… i know nothing better to eat than som tam:-) Found a great thai place in copenhagen that makes excellent som tam… mmm
Six chilies? This would kill the stomach of most farang! better to taste first with 2 or so and add to taste. Also, what is sauce listed in ingredients? som tam lao style you can add crab paste and field crab (sold frozen in zesty “sauce” in asian supermarkets) or in the thai style you can add shrimp paste (gapi), padek (is that the sauce?) sometimes peanuts can be added or dried shrimp. I personally like a little palm sugar, padak, fish sauce, lime juice, shrimp paste and the regular ingredients. Also great made with hard, green, sour mango!
hi there
i love thai food that is the best food in the world lol, a little spicy, a little sweet and sour hmmm it so tasteful!!!
my favoirite dish is ‘papaya salad with crab’
the tast of the specail small crab is wonderful
does anyone know the name of this crab? i m looking around on the internet but i dont find
i feel very grateful if you could give me the name of the specail crab used in papaya salad
my email: phuoc.tran@yahoo.com
thanks a lots
The small crab is called “Poo Na”. Poo is crab and Na is the rice field. All in all, Poo Na means the crab in the rice field.