Thai Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam)
This Thai Green Papaya Salad recipe, or Som Tam Thai, is a simple, healthy and authentic shredded papaya recipe that's packed with flavor. It makes a wonderful side with grilled meats, chicken and seafood. Perfect for summer!
Calories: 121kcal
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons packed palm sugar or light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes more or less to taste
- 1 medium unripe green papaya about 1 - 1½ pounds, peeled, halved and seeded
- 1 medium carrot peeled
- 1 big handful of green beans about a dozen ends snapped off and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large tomato cut into chunks, or about 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 medium shallot very thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
- 1 cup Thai basil roughly chopped
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Add the lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, garlic and chili flakes to a medium bowl, then whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
- Use a julienne tool or mandolin with a julienne attachment to create long thin strands of the papaya and carrot. If you don’t have a julienne tool, you can julienne by hand or use a box grater. The texture will be slightly different, but it still works.
- Add the papaya and carrots to a large mixing bowl along with the green beans, tomatoes, shallots, cilantro and Thai basil. Pour dressing over top and toss to thoroughly combine.
- Arrange salad on a platter and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Garnish with more herbs if desired.
Notes
- Make sure to get a firm, green unripe papaya. You can usually only find them at the Asian grocery store.
- You can make this salad ahead by storing the peanuts, dressing and shredded papaya mixture separately.
Nutrition
Calories: 121kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 869mg | Potassium: 378mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 3307IU | Vitamin C: 48mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1mg
