Crunchy, spicy Thai salad with shredded green papaya and peanuts
Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
0 min
Total Time
20 min
Servings
2
About 3 cups
Difficulty
Easy
Cost
Budget
$
Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
Crunchy, spicy Thai salad with shredded green papaya and peanuts
★4.9(19)
Thailand's most famous salad — shredded green papaya pounded with tomatoes, long beans, peanuts, dried shrimp, and a fiery lime-palm sugar-fish sauce dressing.
20m
Prep Time
0m
Cook Time
20m
Total Time
2
Servings
Easy
Difficulty
Budget $
Cost
Sarah Chen
(Updated )
Som tum is arguably the most popular dish in Thailand, sold at every street corner from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. This salad packs more flavor per bite than almost anything else in the Thai culinary canon.
The magic happens in the mortar and pestle. Garlic and chilies are pounded together to release their oils, then green beans, tomatoes, and shredded green papaya are bruised — not pulverized — to absorb the dressing. The result is a salad that is simultaneously crunchy, juicy, spicy, sour, sweet, and salty.
It is an assault on the senses in the best possible way.
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded green papaya
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3-6 Thai bird chilies
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts
- 1 tbsp dried shrimp
- 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 long beans (or green beans), cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
PrepDaily Use
Test Kitchen Pick
Chef Knife
Helpful Tool
Why a sharp knife helps here
When the recipe is mostly prep, the tool that matters most is the one doing the cutting. A sharp chef’s knife makes the whole process faster and cleaner.
This recipe is won or lost in prep speed and cleaner cuts.
- Speeds up chopping and slicing
- Makes prep more consistent and less frustrating
A good chef’s knife is still the single most useful kitchen upgrade for prep-heavy cooking.
Shop chef knife options for this recipeInstructions
- 1
Using a large mortar and pestle, pound garlic and chilies into a rough paste.
- 2
Add long beans and bruise lightly with the pestle. Add dried shrimp and peanuts and pound a few times to crush slightly.
- 3
Add cherry tomatoes and bruise gently — they should be cracked but not pulverized.
- 4
Add shredded green papaya. Use a spoon and pestle together — scoop from the bottom and press down lightly to bruise the papaya and mix everything.
- 5
Add fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar. Pound and toss a few more times to combine.
- 6
Taste and adjust: it should be predominantly sour, then salty, then sweet, with as much heat as you like.
- 7
Transfer to a plate and serve with sticky rice and raw cabbage leaves.
Serving Suggestions
Ways to Serve This Dish
Serve over steamed jasmine or sticky rice
Pair with a side of pickled vegetables or kimchi
Add a drizzle of sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds for extra flavor
Serve as a light main course or alongside grilled protein
Substitutions
Green papayaGreen mango, shredded carrots, or kohlrabi
Green mango adds more sourness; carrots are sweetest
Fish sauceSoy sauce
For vegetarian; less umami but still delicious
Palm sugarBrown sugar or coconut sugar
Similar sweetness and caramel flavor
DepthPantry
Test Kitchen Pick
Fish Sauce
Helpful Pantry Staple
Why the fish sauce matters
This dish leans on fish sauce for a lot of its savory depth, so the bottle you use has more impact than most pantry upgrades.
This is one of the few ingredients here that noticeably changes the final dish.
- Builds the backbone of the sauce
- Useful well beyond this recipe
A better bottle makes a real difference here and pays off across Vietnamese and Thai cooking.
Shop fish sauce for this recipeTips & Storage
Pro Tips
If you do not have a mortar and pestle, toss everything in a bowl and muddle with a wooden spoon. The texture will be different but the flavor will be there.
Green papaya is available at Asian markets. If unavailable, shredded green mango, carrots, or kohlrabi make good substitutes.
The number of chilies determines the heat — start with 3 and work up. Thai bird chilies are very hot.
Som tum should be eaten immediately — it loses its crunch quickly.
Storage
Som tum does not store well as the papaya softens. Eat immediately. Prepare the dressing and vegetables separately and combine just before serving.
Reheating
Salads are best enjoyed fresh and do not require reheating. If you have leftover dressed salad, it may be slightly wilted but still edible within a few hours.
Nutrition Facts
Per serving (1.5 cups) · 2 servings
Calories160
LowModerateHigh
A light, low-calorie option · based on a 2,000 cal daily diet
Protein8g
Carbohydrates20g
Fat6g
Fiber3g
Sugar12g
Sodium950mg
Nutritional values are approximate and may vary based on specific ingredients and preparation methods.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is green papaya?
- Green papaya is unripe papaya with firm, white flesh and a mild, slightly grassy flavor. It is used for its crunch rather than sweetness. Find it at Asian grocery stores.
- How do I shred green papaya?
- Use a julienne peeler, a mandoline, or score the peeled papaya with a knife and shave off thin shreds with a vegetable peeler.
- Can I make this without dried shrimp?
- For a vegetarian version, omit dried shrimp and substitute soy sauce for fish sauce. Add extra peanuts for protein.
Explore More
About Sarah Chen
Sarah Chen is a professional recipe developer and food editor with over a decade of experience in test kitchens and food media. She trained at the Culinary Institute of America before spending six years developing and testing recipes for national food publications, where she honed her ability to translate restaurant techniques into approachable home cooking. At RecipePool, Sarah leads recipe development, ensuring every dish is tested at least three times for clarity, accuracy, and genuine deliciousness. When she is not in the kitchen, she is browsing farmers markets and collecting vintage cookbooks.
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