Listed in CNN Travel’s Top 50 Foods of the World, Green Papaya Salad is everything you know and love about South-East Asian salads. This Thai salad – called Som Tum – is a riot of fresh colours and crunchy textures, brought to life with a signature sour-sweet-savoury dressing spiked with a whack of fresh chilli. Now THIS is what I call a salad!!!
And … welcome to THAI WEEK!
Welcome to THAI WEEK
Every now and then, I like to do a recipe theme week. This week it’s THAI week, with three classic recipes to make your very own Thai feast at home:
Thai Yellow Curry – Made from scratch, this is flavour you literally cannot buy in a jar!
Green Papaya Salad (this recipe) – Great as side, yet substantial enough as a starter.
Thai Black Sticky Rice Pudding for dessert! It’s hard to believe you can make something so delicious that is fundamentally, made with just rice, water and sugar…
Green Papaya Salad (Thai)
This is a salad that’s about as far as you can get from Western salads. No mayo! No oil in the dressing!
It’s a zingy and spicy cold salad made with green papaya, a fruit which might be unfamiliar to most Westerners. Green papaya is simply unripened papaya, and has a juicy and slightly crunchy texture with a neutral taste. More on green papaya below, including a surprise substitution option!
When shredded, flavour clings to the green papaya. The tangle of threads becomes the perfect vehicle for carrying the kaleidoscope of tastes in the dressing: sweetness from palm sugar, salty savouriness from the fish sauce and dried shrimp, fresh tang from lime, and fiery pungency from a generous one-two punch of garlic and chilli.
Varieties and background
Originating from Laos, variations of Green Papaya Salad can be found in countries across South-East Asia including Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Salads can include everything from dried beef to pickled crabs. Here in Australia, the Thai version – called som tum – is probably the most well known and most widely available. So that’s the version I’m sharing today.
What goes in Green Papaya Salad
Here’s what goes into the salad. The dressing ingredients are shown separately below.
Green papaya
This is literally unripened papaya fruit that is the shape and size of a melon. The texture of the inside is like potato. It’s firm but moist (though not starchy like potato), and ideal for shredding like we do for Green Papaya Salad.
The taste is faintly astringent but overall fairly bland. You wouldn’t eat it plain like other fruit because it doesn’t have enough flavour.
Even though it’s considered a fruit, it’s not sweet at all in its unripened state.
How it’s prepared – Peel using a standard vegetable peeler (the skin is quite soft). You might see the peel weep a white liquid, just wipe it off. Now cut papaya in half and remove the seeds using a spoon. Then finely shred into matchsticks using a julienning shredder, as pictured above.
Where to find it – This is a bit of a specialty ingredient. You can find it at some Asian grocery stores (Thai and Vietnamese are best), and sometimes (sometimes!🤞🏻) at Harris Farm Markets in NSW and Queensland.
Substitutes – The best substitute is green mango, another unripened fruit used in salads in Thai cuisine but also an ingredient that would need to be sourced from an Asian store!
In terms of readily accessible vegetables, nothing is quite the same as green papaya. However funnily enough, de-seeded and shredded telegraph / English cucumbers are the closest!
Snake beans
Named as such for its length, these are like very long green beans only a bit firmer and a bit more scraggly looking. Snake beans have the same texture and a similar flavour to ordinary green beans, which can be prepared in the same way.
For this particular recipe, the snake beans are used raw. They are cut into bite size lengths then pounded to soften and absorb the flavour of the dressing.
Find it at Harris Farms (NSW/QLD), some large grocery stores (Coles/Woolies) or Asian stores.
Substitute green beans / French beans.
Cherry tomatoes
Just every day cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes! Ordinary large tomatoes sliced up will work ok from a flavour perspective, but I’ve never seen them used in this salad.
Thai basil
Thai Basil tastes like normal basil with a stronger aniseed and slightly minty flavour. Nowadays it’s fairly widely available in Australia in large grocery stores and green grocers (Coles, Woolies, Harris Farms).
Best substitute for this recipe is coriander/cilantro. It brings a different flavour to this dish, but it’s not unheard of and the best alternative, in my opinion. The next best substitute is ordinary Italian basil.
What goes in Green Papaya Salad Dressing
Here’s what you need to make the dressing:
Dried shrimp – Found at Asian grocery stores, these are dried little shrimp. They are a key ingredient that are pounded and add a salty, shellfish umami to the Green Papaya Salad.
Can’t find it? If you skip the dried shrimp, you may find the dressing a bit one-dimensional. You can instead use the dressing in the Thai Beef Salad, which contains coriander to give it a boost. Quadruple it (ie. x 4)
Fish sauce – The other ingredient that adds depth and complexity to the dressing. Yes, it’s pungent straight out of the bottle, but it’s considerably diluted once mixed with everything else. If you substitute with soy sauce, you’ll find the dressing a bit lacklustre (in my opinion) so I really do urge you not to skip it. (If you’re really worried about it being strong, switch part of it with soy sauce).
Palm sugar – A sugar derived from palm trees, it’s a sweetener used widely in South-East Asian cooking that has a wonderful caramel flavour. Substitute with brown sugar.
Palm sugar comes in discs or in blocks, such as the cylindrical one pictured above. To ensure it dissolves easily into the dressing, it needs to be grated. I just use a standard box grater.
Limes – Fresh is the only way! If you don’t have fresh limes, I’d give this recipe a miss.
Garlic – Essential, for flavour!
Birds eye chilli – If you want the real deal, you can’t be shy with the chilli. The fact is, Green Papaya Salad IS spicy! Some are so screamingly spicy you’ll be banging your head against the table in agony. This one is not quite so brutal, but is still pretty high up on the spice-o-meter.
If you’re really concerned, feel free to dial it back to 1 chilli. If you skip it, you’ll have yourself a fine salad, but it’s not a Thai Green Papaya Salad!! 😂
Peanuts – A good handful of peanuts is an essential part of the Green Papaya Salad experience. They’re mostly tossed through the salad as part of the dressing, some reserved for sprinkling.
How to make Green Papaya Salad
Traditionally, Green Papaya Salad is made in mortars that are large enough to hold the entire salad. The dressing ingredients are pounded first, followed by the remaining salad components.
The steps in this recipe have been adapted for everyday folk like myself who only have an ordinary-sized mortar and pestle. We pound the components separately and bring it all together in a plain old bowl!
1. How to make Green Papaya Salad Dressing
Garlic and chilli paste: Pound the garlic and chilli in the mortar first until it’s a paste.
Crush shrimp: Add shrimp and pound to crush them. No need to grind into a paste, just break them up.
Dressing liquids: Stir in palm sugar, lime and fish sauce until sugar dissolves – it only takes a 10 seconds or so.
Transfer Dressing into a large bowl. Now, we’ll use the mortar for other components of the salad.
2. How to make Green Papaya Salad
Once the dressing is done, it’s on to the salad components!
Bruise snake beans: The snake beans are used raw in this dish so they needed to be pounded to soften so they are easier to eat. It also makes them split open a bit so the dressing seeps inside, and the bean flavour oozes out.
Add snake beans to the mortar (in batches if needed), then use the pestle to pound them a bit so they bruise, split and soften.
Transfer to bowl: Now add them to the bowl with the Dressing. The dressing will further soften the beans given a little time. This is why we do them before the tomato and papaya.
Crush tomato: Grab handfuls of tomato, and lightly crush with your hands then add into the bowl.
Traditionally, the cherry tomatoes are lightly bruised in a giant mortar and pestle so they “meld” in with the salad better and absorb the dressing. Because this recipe is adapted for everyday home cooks with standard size mortar, I simply crush then lightly in my hands before dropping into a large bowl to toss with everything else.
Add papaya to the bowl. As with the cherry tomatoes, the papaya is traditionally very lightly bruised in a mortar and pestle with the dressing. But honestly, shredded papaya is so delicate anyway this step isn’t necessary. And in fact, you prolong the already short shelf life of this salad by NOT pounding the papaya!
Peanuts: Then add about 3/4 of the peanuts.
Toss: Working quickly, toss well with 2 wooden spoons or tongs. It’s important to work quickly once the papaya comes into contact with the Dressing because the papaya will start to wilt and leach water which dilutes the dressing.
Serving bowls: Transfer the salad into serving bowls. Pile it up nice and high for a good visual effect!
Garnish and serve: Spoon some dressing over the salad. There will be a bit of dressing still left in the bowl because the recipe needs quite a lot of dressing to ensure all the papaya gets coated nicely.
Garnish with Thai Basil leaves, sprinkle with remaining peanuts, then serve immediately.
How and what to serve with Green Papaya Salad
This is a salad that qualifies as a “meal salad” in my world, being one that you can eat in vast volumes as a meal. The extreme tastiness is a big factor here, as is the slaw-like form of the salad which makes it easy to devour large quantities with speed (wait, is that just me?).
A popular fixture of Thai menus here in Australia, you’ll see it offered as a side salad, as a starter or as a lunch salad. As part of Thai Week here at RecipeTin Eats (see top of post!), I’m offering this up as a refreshing side salad to accompany the Thai Yellow Curry I shared on Monday.
(You can easily refashion this into a main course by adding a protein. Try sliced medium-rare beef or tuna steak, barbecued chicken, pork, fish (try crispy skinned salmon!) or shellfish. I’d stick to fairly plain treatments, since the salad is not short on flavour as it is.)
For more side options, or starters to kick off your Thai feast, have a browse of my Thai recipe collection. Some suggestions for Thai starters:
Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce – A firm reader favourite! (Or try Beef Satay).
Thai Fish Cakes – The secret is red curry paste!
Thai Lettuce Cups (Larb Gai)
To all my fellow lockdownees, I hope this inspires you for Thai night … IN! I’ll be back Friday to serve you up dessert! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Thai Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum)
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 2 tbsp garlic , roughly chopped (10 normal or 4 large garlic cloves)
- 6 bird eye chillies, , roughly chopped with seeds (use fewer for less spicy, Note 1)
- 6 tbsp dried shrimp (Note 2)
- 1 cup palm sugar , grated using standard box grater, loosely packed (Note 3)
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup fish sauce
Green Papaya Salad:
- 1 cup roasted peanuts , unsalted
- 20 snake beans , cut in 5cm/2″ pieces (raw, Note 4)
- 3 cups grape tomato , cut in half (~400g / 14oz)
- 500g / 4 cups green papaya , shredded, TIGHTLY packed cups (~1 medium, 2/3 large, Note 5)
- 1/2 cup Thai basil leaves (Note 6)
Instructions
- Crush peanuts: Place peanuts in a mortar and pestle. Pound lightly to break them up into largish pieces, not into powder. Transfer to bowl.
- Garlic and chilli paste: Place garlic and chilli in the mortar. Pound into a paste. Add shrimp and pound to crush them – no need to grind them to a paste.
- Dressing: Stir in palm sugar, lime and fish sauce until sugar dissolves. Pour Dressing into a large bowl.
- Bruise snake beans: Add snake beans to mortar (in batches if needed). Pound to bruise, split and soften (they are raw, so they need to be bashed to soften). Add to Dressing.
- Crush tomato: Grab handfuls of tomato, crush with your hands then add into the bowl.
- Add papaya: Add papaya and 3/4 of the peanuts. Toss well with 2 wooden spoons or tongs.
- Serve immediately (Note 7): Once everything is coated in Dressing, immediately pile up onto plates. Spoon over some dressing (there will be a bit of dressing still left in the bowl, that's normal). Garnish with Thai basil leaves, sprinkle with remaining peanuts. Serve immediately (Note 7).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Watch how to make it
Life of Dozer
Yes, Dozer. This entire Flan Pâtissier is for you, not for the builders at our home. I’m going to put it down on the ground and you can devour the whole thing, all by yourself. (Dream on Dozer. Dream on.)
Brenda O’Brien from Canada says
You are the only “go to”site and only recipes I have used for the past two years during the covid lockdown . I would cook one of your recipes twice a week. They are all so delicious. My husband would say” save that recipe”! The beauty of your site also is I do not lose recipes as I always can find them. Thank you for your dedication and wonderful recipes.( I made your Xmas pavlova tree)
Sarah says
I love this site and all your wonderful recipes! As an American- I apologize for other person from the states. I love to cook- and find your site, and your recipes to be the best! I recommend it all the time!
Sue says
Granny smith apples work really well. Not at all the same but it works.
Melissa says
Literally one of my favourite foods ever and the first thing I order at every Thai restaurant I visit. Cant wait to make this.
Max says
You know Nagi, in this advanced “techy” world we live in, the rude person could just block your emails. Easy! I like the motto If you can’t say something nice, Don’t say anything. I don’t make all your recipes but I sure have picked up some great cooking tips and I appreciate and look forward to your posts! Thank you!
Nora Rodriguez says
Hi Nagi
Sorry to hear that cattiness was the calling card of a fellow American–hope you know that we DO NOT rely on ground beef and we are a nation of diverse palates, whether everyone admits it or not.
Love your energy and the care and detail you share–recipes are about techniques, tips and learning–you nail those and more–hope the unenlightened see that or unsubscribe–no place for haters–thanks for all you do–you and Dozer: stay safe!
Michele says
This looks delicious! And I wanted to say I’m sorry that person left such a mean comment. You have a lovely food blog. I have made several of your recipes and look forward to making many more! I’m an American and I cook a lot of things that my Italian Mom taught me, but I love trying foods from different countries too. Here at our house we love big, crunchy salads!
Angie says
Well there’s a whole other side to mince beef cuisine right? Your recipes are amazing, and so thoughtful during lockdown to all of us in Australia. So blessed to have someone like you and your creativity. Your always my go to for recipes x
Michele says
This looks delicious! And I wanted to say I’m sorry that person left such a mean comment. You have a lovely food blog. I have made several of your recipes and look forward to making many more!
Sue says
Very disappointed to hear the comments from a disgruntled American. Having been to the USA many times (I have relatives there) I have to say that I have never had such unhealthy and boring food anywhere in the world. My own family there don’t even eat vegetables! Chicken and fries is common, as is fried food, burgers, pizza and doughnuts and bread that is so sweet it is unpalatable. These are eaten as a staple by so many. Please don’t take offence to this USA readers, I know there are many on here who LOVE Nagi’s recipes. Beef mince? Yep, I’m not surprised, and THAT is what I would feed my dog 😉 I love food from all countries, particularly Asian food! Why read your site if you just want to eat mince. The comment must have upset you Nagi, ignore the haters and keep on doing the great job that you are, this is not a site for the haters x
Sue Peterson says
I just wanted to say I love this site! Many recipes I will never use but I love to learn about recipes from all over the world and I do try some. This is the only site I have found with such a variety of recipes from everywhere with in detail information on why to use certain spices and why to do things a certain way! I am learning soooo much. I was so excited to learn from one of your recipes about dark soy sauce for instance I never knew it existed ! But you explained why to only use when called for 😊. Thank you for the work you put into this!
Jo says
Oh, Nagi! Can’t believe anyone would complain about your delicious recipes. I recommend your site to EVERYBODY. So easy, so good. Much love to you and Dozer!
Lynda says
Someone was having a terrible day! very rude and untrue comments. Whilst Dozer is a huge drawcard I think most people want reliable, tried recipes and consistency. Being able to get all the info about products is great too. Did I say Dozer is a big drawcard lol, and I’m a cat person! I love everything you do and congrats on branching out as you have Nagi, well done.
Colette says
I am so excited to see this recipe, Som Tum is always the first thing I order in Thailand (back in the day when we could travel). Plus, I am so pleased to see cucumber as a sub for green mango, as I cannot find green mango for love or money in South Africa. I am going to make it this weekend. Extra hug for Dozer seeing he can’t have flan. Xx
Karen says
Ignore the nay-sayers Nagi. I love your site and if I didn’t I would look elsewhere. That’s a hint! 🙂
Alma says
We absolutely love your recipes Nagi. There is a wide variety for everyone and absolutely nothing to complain about. Keep up with what your doing. We adore you and Dozer too. Love from Cape Town x
Anne Borg says
Thankyou for you delicious recipes
And I can’t believe someone complaining ,Rather Rude,
Dozer is a delight
Thankyou Nagi x
Gen says
I am so grateful for all your fabulous recipes and notes Nagi. The notes are very informative and it is like doing a great culinary course.
We are lucky to have you in our lives supporting us through recipes and humour.
Thank you Nagi and Dozer
עליזה פרנקל says
Dear Naji,
I am from Israel and here too I enjoy and learn from you, whether techniques and twists for familiar recipes or new or different recipes.
You are very creative and know how to explain the recipe so that it came out properly and delicious! Very tasty. Please do not pay attention to complaints or insults. You do not deserve it but it says something about the complainant and there is no need to even discuss it. Just ignore and do not give a stage to these words.
Thank you so much for sharing us. The large readership you have accumulated teaches how much you have enriched us with your knowledge and experience. Wishing you success in the new project too!
Sharon says
Hi Nagi,
I’m forever grateful for finding & trying your fantastic recipes. I honestly have never had one that i didn’t like & started putting comments on each I’ve tried so far. Keep up the good work & ignore all the bad comments. I have so many favourites that you have put up on this web site. Love your work