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Green Papaya Salad
November 16th, 2011Recipes, Eating Light, Recipes, Recipes, Thai Recipes30 Comments
I know many of you must be wondering why I haven’t posted new recipes for a while. Well, I had a careless kitchen accident a couple of months ago and I’ve been taking things slow, especially in the kitchen department. The truth is I’ve been working so hard on this blog, my cookbook (have you bought a copy yet?), being a full-time mom taking care of my baby, that my mind is constantly racing with 10,000 things at a time. The accident was an awakening call that I can only do so much, and that nothing matters if something were to happen to me. So, I apologize for the lack of original recipes as of late, which I hope to make it up to you with the many holiday giveaways that I’ve lined up for you.
I had Thai Green Papaya Salad, or Som Tam during a family’s trip to Hat Yai, a border town north of the peninsula of Malaysia. My late parents, my eldest sister, aunt, and friends hired a van that drove us there for cheap shopping and Thai food feasting. All my family members love Thai food, because we have some Thai heritage in our blood. My great grandmother was born and raised in Thailand and married to a Malaysian; my grandmother could speak fluent Thai. By the small seaside town of Songkhla (close to Hat Yai), I had the first authentic Thai green papaya salad, sold by an old lady with a mobile cart, equipped only with her mortar and pestle plus the ingredients. At the first bite, I fell immediately in love. Som Tam is the epitome of the perfect blends of hot, sour, salty, and sweet—the iconic tastes of Thai cuisine. It was utterly delicious, fiery, and addictive.
When it comes to making an authentic Thai green papaya salad (Som Tam), I turned to my friend’s website at She Simmers. (She Simmers had previously shared her Thai pamelo salad recipe on Rasa Malaysia.) The only thing that I changed in her recipe is the use of grape tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes because I had some leftover.
Enjoy this colorful and flavorful Thai green papaya salad.
(Click Page 2 for the Thai Green Papaya/Som Tam Recipe)
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Wow, this green papaya salad is absolutely colorful and gorgeous. I’m sure it’s tasty!
I seldom have papaya salad, but this recipe looks so easy I’m tempted to give it a try! It looks so fresh and delicious too.
And sorry to hear about your kitchen mishap. Hope it wasn’t anything too serious. Take it easy now…:)
Very nice Thai food. Som Tam is good taste.
It does look good. I really like thai food. They use peanuts a lot.
Yep, was wondering what happened….
Hope you are OK now……..
Never had a papaya salad before….Looks interesting
Yummm! I love this salad!
Hi! I saw your post on foodgawker and then checked out your site. You have wonderful work. We are a new food blogging platform – you should check us out and submit your work if you’re interested!
tq tq tq. Hope this time it will turn out good. tried some of your recipies from your book, was great. Tq n keep up the good work
Oh I love green papaya! This reminds me of our Filipino pickle version of green papayas which we call “atchara”. Papaya is such a versatile ingredient! Love this post and the story of your family travelling. I’ve been to Malaysia, it’s a lovely place with the warmest people! Thanks for sharing!
Brilliant bee…when I can try your food :-)
your recipes are always welcome and always super fun. but the 2.o is your candor. love the baby pics. and those moments when you are visiting your folks i feel like i am tagging alone. looking forward to your next posting. cheers
Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope all is well and yes never take a day alive for granted. Great looking salad by the way. All best wishes.
Really gd I love it……………….
my fav Thai salad!
I have always loved eating Som Tam.
Thank you so much for the recipe.
Hope you are feeling better now.
And yes Ive bought your book. Love it.
Thanks. Was waiting for the recipe. Since you tweeted about the sun light was not enough, you had wait to take the picture. I was like where is the recipe?
We all know you are working very hard to give us lot of nice recipes.
One tips, people who dont like to have roasted peanuts, like me. You can try the crashed toasted rice.
You can get the recipe here:
http://www.shesimmers.com/2009/04/khao-kua-how-to-make-toasted-rice.html
This salad looks really good…
I hope you are doing better, kitchen can really be a dangerous place for us adults too…
Take care girl…
Hope you are not too seriously hurt and speedy recovery. Like your recipe and will forward it to my niece. I like to add it to spaghetti to make a nice summery appetizing dish. Sometimes when I can’t find papaya, I use long beans or even shredded carrot as substitute. Your photo makes me want to have some right now.Thanks.
Sorry to hear your accident. Please take care.
That salad looks beautiful and tasty!
It’s a must try dish
I just had padthai today, would love to try this one soon.
Love the use of enamel-coated plates! Injected a sense of nostalgia back to any dish.
Papaya salad is not only delicious but also very healthy.
Nice & colorful salad. Lovely !
This salad was adopted from Laos where green papaya salad originated. The original Lao papaya salad is called Tam Som. From Laos, the Lao salad spread to Isan region of Thailand and then to the rest of Thailand. It also went from Laos to two other neighboring countries called Vietnam and Cambodia.
This is great to know! I do know that Laos has this dish just didn’t know the influence.
Bee, there’s no need to feel bad. You didn’t do anything wrong and hungry247 doesn’t know history or language as well as he or she wants to think. This Lao culinary supremacy in Southeast Asia bullshit has done on for too long on many different places around the web, calling into question and attacking anyone from other countries in the region naming any dish anything but Lao. I think it’s just a group of ignorant Laos giving their compatriots a bad name.
Just because a dish has a name in one language doesn’t mean it’s Poor Esaan people of Thailand. No matter what the hell they make and eat, they can’t have any pride in it because, guess what, every friggin’ thing is from Laos. BULLSHIT. I would not object to saying that some Esaan dishes are just as Lao as they’re Northeastern Thai, but to say that Laos is the mother of Esaan cuisine is historically idiotic.
Sure, all papaya salads in Southeast Asia including Thai, Vietnamese, and Cambodian are influenced by Laos. Bullshit again. Papaya isn’t even native to Southeast Asia. It was brought over by the Portuguese through trade, so the fruit came to Southeast Asia by sea. There is evidence of it being used culinarily in the south of the peninsula BEFORE the fruit made its way up north.
With Laos being a landlocked country, it’s clearly one of the last spot in Southeast Asia to ever get to know what a papaya is. And now some history flunkie Laos, blinded by nationalism, want to say their papaya salad has influenced the Thai, Vietnamese, and Cambodian papaya salads as if none of these cultures could have thought of this dish independently of Lao cuisine? I’m shaking my head at this total bullshit.
Thanks for your support!
Daniel,
You’re an idiot! What “Lao culinary supremacy in Southeast Asia” are you talking about? Who’d ever said everything in Southeast Asia originated in Laos? hungry247, may have been mistaken about what som tum is call in Laos and in Isaan (Tam Mak Hoong), but he/she is correct about “Som Tum” being adopted from the Tam Mak Hoong. Tam Som (lit: pounded sour), is not what people in Laos or Isaan call it, Papaya is not sour. He/She was just trying to give a historical perspectives on the dish, which have mistakenly been credited to Thailand – the dish is uniquely Lao. The majority of the people in Isaan, where my family is from, are ethnically Lao, their families were relocated from Vientaine, after Chao Anouvong’s failed rebellion. Tam Mak Hoong migrated from Laos and the region to Bangkok and became “Som Tum” when the Isaan people started to move into the city to find work.
“…many different places around the web, calling into question and attacking anyone from other countries in the region naming any dish anything but Lao…blinded by nationalism…”
That is the most ironic statement anyone could ever made about Laos. What does Pad Thai, Thai Basil, Thai Curry, Thai [insert anything]. Sound to you? Do other countries in SE Asia not have these things? You should learn about the Thaification of the Isaan region first before you speak.
Using your grade school logic: Tomato, is not even native to Europe, yet it is what make a piece of bread, a Pizza. Why do people give credits to the Italian for it’s creation considering pretty much every country in the world, now, have their own version? This must be bullshit and damn impossible that the Italian came up with pizza because the tomato had to have gone through many other countries first before it made it landed in Italy. How is possible that no one else could have thought of this dish independently of Italian cuisine? I’m shaking my head at this total bullshit. Idiot!