Dishes
Green papaya salad
青木瓜沙拉
Also called: som tam · som tum · tam mak hoong · 涼拌青木瓜
Shredded unripe papaya pounded with chilli, lime and fish sauce, the sour, hot salad of Laos and Thailand.
Photo: Ryan Snyder, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Alpha from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0What it is
A salad of shredded green (unripe) papaya, bruised with garlic, chilli, lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar. It balances sour, hot, salty and sweet. Long beans, tomatoes and dried shrimp are common additions.
Where it comes from
It is generally credited to the Lao and counts as a national dish of Laos. It spread across Thailand from Isan, the Lao-majority north-east. Some historians offer other theories, and the earliest known printed Thai recipe dates from 1929.
How it is made
The cook pounds the dressing and vegetables together in a mortar with a pestle, which is what 'tam' means. Styles range from mild, sweet versions with crushed peanuts to fiery ones with fermented fish or salted crab.
How to eat it
In Laos and Isan it comes with sticky rice and grilled chicken. In Kaohsiung, order it as a sharp, cooling side to Thai fried noodles.
In Kaohsiung
At Thai Yuan in Kaohsiung, Michelin's inspectors say the house fried noodles are best paired with som tum.
Where to eat it in Kaohsiung
Sources