Green papaya and peanut salad

Som" tam" Thai

Preparation info
  • Serves

    4

    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in
Food and Travels: Asia

By Alastair Hendy

Published 2004

  • About

Green papaya is unripe papaya, and has white firm flesh and green skin. If you can’t find it, use unripe mango or a firm deseeded cucumber. Never use a regular ripe papaya.

Ingredients

  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 4 birdseye chillies, roughly chopped
  • 2 large mild red chillies, des

Method

Pound together the garlic and chillies with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar until crushed and pasty. Roughly pound in the dried shrimp and a small handful of the shredded green papaya, so that it’s crushed but still chunky. Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar until dissolved. Tip into a bowl, then add the remaining papaya, the tomatoes, beansprouts and about 3 tbsp of the toaste