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Thai Green Papaya Salad
Thai Green Papaya Salad
Also known as (som tam)
this light and refreshing Thai green papaya salad great can be easily made vegan and gluten-free.
Thai green papaya salad (som tam) is a popular classic Thai salad that is made using shredded green unripe papaya. This delicious papaya salad has sweet, sour, spicy, and savory flavors going on at the same time.
This papaya salad is light on the stomach and can also be topped with some chicken or shrimp for a full meal, it is often served on the side with comforting meal of Thai curry and jasmine rice.
Ingredients
Green papaya salad ingredients.
Vegetables -You will need green papaya, carrots, yard long beans (or green beans), cilantro, and bean sprouts to make this salad. If green papaya is not available in your regular grocery store, then check out the Asian grocery store near you. They will have it stoked.
When you select green (unripe) papaya, make sure that it is dark solid green in color and is very firm to touch. It should not have any soft patches or black blemishes. When you peel it, the inside fruit should have a pale green color without any patches of pink or orange.
Green papaya is crisp and it has a very mild flavor, even milder than cucumbers.
Traditionally, yard long beans are used to make this salad but green beans will be great as well.
How to shred papaya for this recipe?
There are multiple ways in which you can shred the green papaya.
- Using a knife – Make long cuts in the raw papaya flesh by constantly tapping with the knife, then thinly slice the top layer into the bowl until all the papaya is shredded.
- Using a julienne peeler – This is my fav way to prepare the papaya for this recipe. Peel the papaya and cut it in half. Remove the seeds using a spoon. Not using a julienne pepper, julienne the papaya. If the juliennes are too long, cut them into smaller pieces.
- Using a mandoline slicer – Cut the peeled papaya into very thin slices using a mandoline slicer. Stack up the slices and julienne them into thin strips.
Peanuts – Crushed roasted peanuts add a crunch and bite to any recipe, and I just love how well they come together with the other ingredients of this salad. For best flavor, roast the raw peanuts until they are crispy and use them in the salad
Dried shrimp – Chopped dried shrimp gives a very unique flavor to this salad and they are traditionally added to this recipe. I am personally not a fan of dried shrimp so did not include them but you must definitely add a tablespoon of chopped dried shrimp along with the veggies.
Green papaya salad dressing ingredients.
Dressing – The dressing for this papaya salad is made with simple ingredients such as garlic, Thai red chilies, vegetable oil, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt.
