THAI PAPAYA SALAD (SOM TUM)

Without a doubt, Green Papaya Salad can be considered the Thai national dish. Everybody eats it almost every day, it is more than a meal, it is an entire social experience, a group of Thai folks (usually women), will share the preparation of a large dish of Green Papaya Salad, and then sit down and eat it together, often accompanied by a basket full of Kanom Jeen (a kind of Thai equivalent to spaghetti), and various fresh vegetables such as string beans and cucumber.

No discussion of Green Papaya Salad would be complete without also including Pla Ra (rotten fish sauce). Green Papaya Salad has a rather distinct taste and this is almost entirely fuelled by the inclusion of Pla Ra. Pla Ra is made quite simply, a quantity of fish is taken, and put into a plastic bag, which is then kept un-refrigerated and left to rot. The resulting liquid in the bottom of the bag, is used as a flavouring for some dishes, including Green Papaya Salad.

There is a variation of Green Papaya Salad, named Som Tum Thai, which does not include any Pla Ra, and this is often preferred by tourists visiting Thailand, as Pla Ra is something of an acquired taste.

There are also some regional differences to Green Papaya Salad. For example, in Isan (North East Thailand) which is entirely land locked, the crab used as part of the recipe will be some form of small river or land crab, these will be smashed using a mortar and pestle before they are added to the salad. In Southern Thailand, which is much closer to the sea (most areas are less than 50km from the coastline if not on it), then sea crab is used. Instead of being crushed before adding to the Green Papaya Salad, it is simple chopped into large pieces and thrown in for people to extract the meat and eat it as part of the salad.

Green Papaya Salad is one of the few dishes that Thai people will eat without rice. Usually it is eaten as a light lunch, or a social snack. It is the perfect dish to be eaten in the Western World in the same way. Low in calories and fat, high in nutrition and incredibly delicious. Prepare with fewer chillies if you want an easy to eat, tasty alternative to a traditional salad.