Aside from Tom yum goong, som tam comes to mind when talking about Thai cuisine. When I tasted it for the first time, I wasn't impressed. I didn't like it. Maybe, it was because I was not used to eating raw papaya. In the place where I come from, we love to eat our papayas ripe. After eating it a few times, I came to love and appreciate its distinct taste. I eat it a lot these days. It goes best with sticky rice and fried pork or chicken.
I think som tam is a healthy food depending on how it is prepared. I remember going to this stall and I was taken aback when I saw how the lady made my som tam. She put a lot of sugar and fish sauce. It tasted delicious, but consuming much sugar is bad for health. After that, I learnt to order my som tam with the phrase Sai namtan nit noi na kha (Please put a little sugar). There are various kinds of som tam; som tam Thai (green papaya salad), som tam pla ra (green papaya salad with fermented fish), som tam poo (green papaya salad with crab), etc. Som Tam Thai is my favorite.
The ingredients depend on your taste or preference. For Som Tam Thai, the ingredients are green papaya, tomato, garlic, lemon or lime, string beans, fish sauce, sugar, dried shrimp, peanuts, and fresh or dried chili for the kick. You can add fermented fish, crab, shrimp, etc. to make the other kinds of som tam.
I was invited by one of my Thai colleagues to go eat at her place, and she prepared Som Tam Thai using fresh ingredients from her backyard. I asked her how she makes her som tam, and she told me "laewte". "Laewte" means it's up to you or whatever you like or however you like. It is an expression that can only be used with people you have a close or friendly relationship with. The ingredients for her som tam thai were green papaya, tomato, garlic, lime, string beans, sugar, fish sauce, and chili.
This is how she made it.
1. Prepare the ingredients.
2. Toss the garlic and chili in the pestle and then crush them lightly. They also call som tam papaya pokpok because of the sound of the pestle "pok, pok, pok" when crushing.
3. Add sugar and fish sauce and then mix.
4. Toss the tomatoes , squeeze the lime and lightly crush.
5. Toss the papaya. Lightly crush and mix.
It's done! Time to eat!
She also prepared Tam Taeng kwaa (cucumber).
This was our simple but delicious meal.
Note: Article written in 2016
Thanks for reading!
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