Traveling from the North to South and East to West areas and islands of Thailand offered non-stop adventure and a chance to rejuvenate! I appreciate the diversity of each place, cooking class, the different delicacies and the intense Thai massages! I smelled, tried and tasted new dishes, and became all too familiar with shrimp paste, oyster and fish sauce! I will share stories and recipes in the upcoming weeks…starting off with my favorite: Papaya Salad.
I was introduced to fresh Papaya Salad on our elephant trek in Chang Mai. After stopping at a beautiful hut in the mountains, our guides first pulled out a bunch of ingredients to teach us how to make elephant detox treats. Some of the ingredients included brown rice, dates and squash. Is it bad I wanted to try it, too?! After that, they brought out the ingredients for the Papaya Salad and instructed us on how to make it the correct way. Delicious!
Papaya Salad (Som-Tam)
Ingredients:
50g (or 1 small) green papaya
10 garlic cloves
1-3 chillies
1 Tomato
1 – 5 Chinese long beans (or green beans), cut into 1 inch pieces
20g peanuts
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1-2 limes, cut in quarters
1 tbsp palm or brown sugar
Directions:
1. Put garlic, chillies, and green beans in the mortar (wood or stone bowl) and pound together gently
2. Add palm sugar, lime, fish sauce and pound together gently until sugar is dissolved
3. Put in papaya (Peel the green papaya, then slice it in half and remove all the seeds. Using the largest grater you have, grate the papaya (or you can use a potato peeler to create thin, ribbon-like strips) and chopped tomato, mix well
4. Pour onto dish and top with peanuts.
5. Serve fresh! bonus: serve with sticky rice
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