If Thai food were laid out as one of those nutritional pyramids they showed you in health class, green papaya salad would be at the bottom, right above rice. In other words: It is fundamental. You can eat it by itself, or with rolled-up balls of sticky rice, or with barbecued meats like they do in the Isaan region of Thailand. As with fried rice, it’s an infinitely riffable blank slate, and almost every cook in every region has a way to customize it. You can trick out som tum with fermented fish sauce, raw blue crabs, salted rice paddy crabs, waterbugs, hog plums, and a wide array of other Thai ingredients. But all those things start with the essential balancing act of lime, sugar, fish sauce, and chiles that make som tum what it is. The basic appeal of this recipe is less the papaya and more the dressing, so feel free to experiment with shredded green cabbage, shaved radish, peeled cucumber, or unpeeled green apple (soak the latter in water and a little lime juice after julienning so it doesn’t turn brown). Or leave out the green papaya part altogether and increase the amounts of green beans, tomatoes, and carrots.
Ideally, you’ll want a mortar and pestle when you make papaya salad. Find a lightweight version made out of clay or plastic—the heavy-duty granite versions are used for curry pastes. Much like sushi chefs or bartenders who slap herbs before serving them, your goal should be to bruise the ingredients to release their essence without destroying them in the process. If for some reason you’re unable to get hold of a mortar and pestle, you will still be able to make a killer papaya salad. You’ll build the dressing in a food processor or blender first, then transfer it to a large bowl where you’ll do the “bruising” part.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
In a saucepan, combine the fish sauce and coconut sugar and cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar is melted and the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Remove from the heat and let the fish sauce syrup cool.
Step 2
Mortar and Pestle Method: Before you start throwing things in the mortar, arrange your mise en place in this order: garlic, chiles, green beans, carrot, green papaya, fish sauce syrup, lime juice, peanuts, and tomatoes. Hold the pestle in your dominant hand and a spoon in the other. Rather than pounding straight down, you’re going to push the pestle down the sides of the mortar. Throw in the garlic and pound until it becomes a rough, pulpy mash. Add the chiles—pound them heavily if you prefer it spicy, or gently if you want it less spicy. Add the green beans, carrots, and green papaya, bruising lightly with the pestle and mixing with the spoon for about 10 seconds between each addition. Add the lime juice and fish sauce syrup, pound, and mix for another 10 seconds. Add the peanuts and tomatoes and repeat. Everything in the mortar other than the chiles and garlic should be bruised but intact. Don’t overpound. If you want to mix a handful of other ingredients you can stir them in at this point, adjusting the seasoning as needed.
Step 3
Bowl Method: Combine the fish sauce syrup, lime juice, garlic, and chiles in a blender or food processor and blend until the garlic and chiles are totally pulverized. This is your som tum dressing and it can be refrigerated until you’re ready to make the salad. In a mixing bowl, combine the papaya, carrots, and dressing. Using your hands, stir, mix, and squeeze the shredded salad to infuse the dressing and mimic the bruising of the mortar and pestle. Lightly crush the peanuts and toss in, along with the tomatoes. Transfer the salad to a plate and serve with sticky rice.
Recipe notes
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