Traditionally this Thai Papaya Salad is prepared in a large clay mortar and wooden pestle but since I do not own one I just simply used a large mixing bowl as the mortar and my TALL Starbuck mug as the pestle…lol. I had placed my Starbucks mug in a gallon size zip loc bag and pounded away. I find that it works just as well !

Also most Asian supermarkets around my area do not carry cherry tomatoes so instead I had used these little round sweet tomatoes.

This recipe only uses half of a green papaya so with the unused portion, you can then make a Vietnamese Papaya Salad with Beef Jerky ! Click here for the recipe https://eatwithemily.com/recipe/papaya-salad-with-beef-jerky/ .

Purchase the items below and have it conveniently shipped to your home!

Thai Papaya Salad ( Som Tum )

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Course Salad

Cuisine Thai

Servings 2 People

Ingredients

Ingredients:

1/2 of a Green Papaya ( Equals to 4 cups julienned )
2 Garlic Cloves ( Minced )
2 Thai Chilies ( Rough chopped )
3 1/2 Tablespoons Shaved Palm Sugar
5 Chinese Long Beans ( Cut into 1 ½” pieces )
2 Tablespoons Crushed Roasted Peanuts
1 Tablespoon Dried Shrimp ( Soaked in hot water )
1 1/2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Tamarind Concentrate
1 Lime ( Juiced )
10 Cherry Tomatoes ( Halved )

Garnish:( Optional )

1 Tablespoon Crushed Roasted Peanuts

Tools Needed:

Thai Som Tum Mortar & Pestle
Papaya Peeler

Instructions

Discard the seeds and use a knife to peel the skin of the green papaya.
Then use a papaya peeler to shred the papaya.
Immediately place the shredded papaya in a bowl of ice water to keep the papaya crunchy.
Pour the papaya into a colander to drain. Give it a couple of squeezes to remove excess water. Leave the shredded papaya in the colander and allow it to completely dry.
Soak the dried shrimp in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes. Then drain and set aside.
In the meantime, mince the garlic and rough chop the Thai chilies.
Pound the minced garlic and Thai chilies until smashed in a large Thai som tum mortar. If you do not have a som tum mortar you can use a large mixing bowl instead.
Shave the palm sugar.
Add the shaved palm sugar to the mortar and mash with the pestle.
Cut the long beans into 1 ½” inches and add them to the mortar. Pound them until they are slightly bruised .
In a separate small bowl crush the peanuts with the pestle until the peanuts are broken. Then divide the peanuts into 2 small dishes. Place 2 tablespoons of crushed peanuts into one of the dishes. These crushed peanuts will be added to the mortar. Place the remaining peanuts into the other dish which will be later used to garnish the salad.
Add the roasted peanuts and the rehydrated dried shrimp to the som tum mortar and pound until the shrimp is slightly bruised .
Add the fish sauce, tamarind concentrate, and squeeze in the lime juice. Stir everything together with a large spoon.
Cut the tomatoes in half and add to the mortar. Also add in the shredded papaya.
Give it a good mix with the spoon so that everything is coated with the sauce.
Then lightly pound with a pestle until the tomatoes are slightly bruised . Mix with a large spoon and pound at the same time.
Place in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving to allow all the flavors to marry.
Then plate and garnish with more crushed peanuts. ( Optional ).
The Papaya salad will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.