Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
How to Make Green Papaya Salad โ This authentic Thai Som Tum recipe makes a delicious salad with crunchy and tart unripened papaya, beans, and vibrant seasonings. Serve as a refreshing appetizer or side dish this summer!
Why We Love This Green Papaya Salad Recipe
Som Tum (also Som Tam) is one of the best-known, most loved salads in Thailand and surrounding Southeast Asian countries.
Itโs made with hard and tart unripened papaya, long beans, and chopped peanuts for a terrific crunchy slaw-like consistency. And everything is tossed with classic Asian seasonings โ including fish sauce, garlic, and chiles for incredibly bold flavors in every bite.
Similarly, Vietnamese papaya salad is also made with thinly sliced green papaya. However, the Vietnamese version tends to also have other shredded veggies, like carrots and cabbage, as well as cooked shrimp and fresh basil. Itโs very tasty, but it does tend to get a bit more complicated to make at home, so weโre keeping things easy with this Thai version that comes together in only 25 minutes!
This Thai Green Papaya Salad recipe makes a wonderfully simple, light, and refreshing dish that can be enjoyed on its own, as an appetizer, or served as a side with your favorite Thai main dishes!
Ingredients You Need
A traditional Thai salad includes simple, wholesome, and wonderfully vibrant ingredients. To make this classic Som Tum recipe you need:
- Green papaya โ hard and unripened
- Garlic cloves โ peeled
- Scallions โ green and white parts separated
- Thai bird chiles โ seeded and sliced
- Dry roasted peanuts โ or cashews, for those with a peanut allergy
- Fish sauce โ can sub with soy sauce or tamari
- Lime โ zested and juiced
- Sugar โ granulated white sugar or coconut sugar
- Long beans โ also known as snake beans (or skinny green beans), cut into segments
- Roma tomato โ seeded and chopped
Pro Tip: You can usually find green papayas, long beans, Thai chiles, and fish sauce at all Asian markets, and many large grocery stores with a good โinternationalโ section.
This salad can also be made with green mangos and dried shrimp.
How to Make Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
From start to finish this dish is ready in under 30 minutes. Itโs great to chill before serving, and can even be made ahead!
- Prepare the unripened papaya. Use a vegetable peeler to carefully peel the papaya. Take care to not scrape off much of the flesh.
- Next, cut the hard flesh into long โjulienneโ slivers. Do this by using a julienne tool, or by tapping a large chefโs knife rapidly over the surface of the papaya, making many slashes in the same direction. Then shave them off, perpendicular to the slashes. You will need 6-7 cups of julienne papaya shreds.
- Place the papaya slaw in a large bowl. Then pile ice over the papaya and fill the bowl with cold water. Let the slaw soak for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Now pull out a mortar and pestle. Place the garlic cloves, the white ends of the scallions, and the chopped chiles in the bowl. Use the pestle to mash the ingredients until very soft and broken.
- Then add in the peanuts and lime zest. Smash and break the peanuts into fine pieces.
- Now pour in the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, long bean segments, and tomatoes. Mix and smash all the ingredients together.
- Once the papaya has soaked for at least 10 minutes, drain off the ice and water. Move the papaya to a large salad bowl.
- Pour the smashed dressing mixture over the papaya. Toss well to coat.
- Chop the scallion greens and sprinkle them over the salad. Sprinkle additional chopped peanuts over the top, if desired.
- Chill until ready to serve.
Get the Full Printable Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad Recipe) Below!
Salad Variations
- Swap fish sauce with soy sauce or tamari to make a vegetarian and vegan-friendly Thai salad.
- If you canโt find unripened papaya you can substitute it with green unripened mango.
- As-is this Som Tum recipe has just a bit of heat from the Thai chilies. Use only 1 or 2 of these chilies for a fairly mild version, or include 3 to 4 to really kick up the spiciness.
- If you canโt or donโt want to use peanuts, swap them with chopped cashews.
- You could also add sweet cherry tomatoes sliced with a sharp knife, if you canโt find roma tomatoes.
- Other ingredients often added are bell peppers and dried shrimp.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy Som Tum as a side with classic dishes like Easy Chicken Pad Thai, Tom Yum Soup (Hot and Sour Soup), and Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce.
Use it as a sweet slaw on your favorite east Asian-inspired sandwiches. Try Som Tum on a roll with Sweet Chili Pulled Pork, on a Vietnamese Bahn Mi, or add to Keto Larb Rolls for some extra flavor and crunch.
And donโt forget the Thai Mango Sticky Rice Pudding for dessert!
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is really great for making ahead of time. Kept covered in the refrigerator, Green Papaya Salad will keep well for at least a week.
Som Tum has a lot of the same benefits that you get from vegetable salads, including fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It offers plenty of nutrients without being high in calories, carbs, or fats. Experience exotic taste and flavor with all these amazing benefits!
Looking for More Easy and Refreshing Salad Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
- Crunchy Beet Carrot Slaw
- Zucchini and Green Chutney Salad
- Healthy Rainbow Chopped Salad
- Raw Beet and Sweet Potato Salad
- Caribbean Coleslaw Recipe
Get the Full Printable Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad Recipe) Below!
Som Tum (Thai Green Papaya Salad)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 green papaya hard unripened
- 4-5 cloves garlic peeled
- 4-5 scallions green and white ends separated
- 2-4 thai bird chiles seeded and sliced
- 3 tablespoon dry roasted peanuts
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 lime zested and juices
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ยฝ cup long beans snake beans, or skinny green beans cut into 1 inch segments
- 1 plum or roma tomato seeded and chopped
Instructions
- Prep the Papaya: Use a vegetable peeler to peel the papaya. Then cut the hard flesh into long โjulienneโ slivers. Do this by using a julienne tool, or by tapping a large chef's knife rapidly over the surface of the papaya, making many slashes in the same direction. Then shave them off, perpendicular to the slashes. You will need 6-7 cups of julienne papaya total.
- Place the papaya slaw in a large bowl. Then pile ice over the papaya and fill the bowl with cold water. Let the slaw soak in the cold water to firm for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Set out a mortar and pestle. Place the garlic cloves, the white ends of the scallions, and the chopped chiles in the bowl. Use the pestle to smash the ingredients until very soft and broken. Then add in the peanuts and lime zest. Smash and break the peanuts into fine pieces.
- Now pour in the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, long bean segments and tomatoes. Mix and smash all the ingredients together.
- Once the papaya has soaked for at least 10 minutes, drain off the ice and water. Move the papaya to a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing mixture over the papaya. Toss well to coat.
- Chop the scallion greens and sprinkle over the salad. Sprinkle additional chopped peanuts over the top if desired. Chill until ready to serve.
Thanks for Sharing. Easy to cook! just make it and enjoy.
This looks incredible! Iโve never tried a green papaya before, I canโt wait to see how it turns out!
Canโt believe how much flavor this salad has! Itโs so light, but filling & so good! I will be making this all the time!
I love papaya so much, this allows me to have it planned with some of my favorite dinner recipes and I could not be more excited! I love it!