Papaya Salad (Som Tam)

Quite possibly my favourite Thai dish (I’m basically a Som Tam critic now), Som Tam is a delicious Thai salad commonly found at street-side vendor carts, made with julienned green papaya and a tamarind-based sauce. You might be put off by the idea of a salad (healthy, boring, I know), but trust me—it’s not what you usually think of when you hear the word “salad.” The green papaya has a fantastic crunch, like a raw carrot, but with a much more enjoyable flavour.

This can be a spicy dish! Most vendors will ask how many chillies you’d like; if you like hot dishes, 1 will be a good starting point. If you don’t like spicy, skip the chilli—the raw garlic (if included) will often add a bit of spice regardless.

Som Tam can be enjoyed any time of day, paired with some sticky rice, noodles, or even a piece of BBQ chicken, or just on its own. It’s surprisingly filling.

How to Eat It?

Som Tam is often served in a bowl or a tied plastic bag (for takeaway) with a spoon. If you’re hungry straight away, many street vendors have disposable bowls they can put your food into and some stools—just ask while they’re making the salad.

It’s standard for most Thai foods to be eaten with a spoon (the fork is only around to push food onto the spoon), and Som Tam is no exception. Get stuck into the room-temperature salad, enjoying all the flavourful components mixed together.

Bulking It Up

If you’re feeling extra adventurous, you can ask the vendor for some rice noodles (sen lek). For about ฿5 - ฿10, you’ll get a plastic bag full of them ready to mix into your salad. This adds a different texture into the salad and helps absorb more of the juice. This is a super common practice, and they’ll often be impressed you know about it.

Soaking Up the Juice

That leftover juice at the bottom of your bowl is key to the local’s secret to turning Som Tam into a food coma-level meal. When ordering Som Tam, ask the vendor for some sticky rice (khao niew, different from the sweetened sticky rice you get with mango sticky rice) (usually ฿10). They’ll often have an icebox nearby with some warm bags ready to go.

Once you’ve finished off the main course, use your hands to pinch off some of the rice from the bag and make it into a ball (this is super easy with sticky rice). Dip it in the sauce and then straight into your mouth. The chewy texture of the rice with the sweet, sour, and savoury Som Tam juice (ugh, this is making me hungry) is the perfect combination, and after the bag of rice, washed down with a coconut smoothie, you’ll be beyond full.

Free Side Dishes/Mystery Leaves

You’ll often notice a few bowls of water with leaves, birds-eye chillies, and cabbage in them. These are always free and for snacking on with the Som Tam. Some vendors will include them in the carry bag with or without asking, and some will just have it there to help yourself. Grab a good handful and pop them in your carry bag once you’re served your food.

The mysterious leaves are usually betel leaf. Don’t worry—these aren’t from the same plant as the betel nut and don’t have any negative health effects. The betel plant is actually from the pepper family, which explains the peppery taste of the leaf.

Use your hands to pick up some of the salad with the leaf to make a mini taco or just munch on them on their own, alternating between the Som Tam and the leaves.

What’s in It?

Always

• Green papaya
• Green or ripe tomatoes
• Long beans
• Chopped peanuts (sometimes roasted)
• Palm sugar (sometimes white and/or raw sugar is used)
• Lime juice
• Tamarind paste (it’s almost like a pad thai salad)
• Fresh chillies (super hot!)
• Fish sauce

Sometimes

• Raw garlic (usually the skin is left on)
• Fermented Soybean Paste (tao jiew)
• Hog plums (more common in the Isan, Northeastern part of Thailand)
• Dried shrimp (tiny little shrimp, by the handful, sometimes so small they look like shredded carrot)
• Thai eggplant
• Crab (you’ll likely only have this if you order a specific crab (pu) variation)

Make it Vegetarian/Vegan

Skip the seafood by ordering a standard Som Tam (don’t get the crab one!) and asking the vendor to remove the dried shrimp (not all vendors use them) and fish sauce. This won’t really affect the taste; just keep in mind that they’ll be using the same preparation equipment they’ve made the previous meals in and likely aren’t wiping it out after each use.

Expect to Pay

A bag, bowl, or plate of Som Tam should cost ฿35 - ฿50 (variations containing crab or other specialties will cost more). A packet of rice noodles to mix in will be about ฿5 - ฿10, and a bag of sticky rice to soak up the sauce should cost ฿10. The leaves/cabbage/chillies are free.