Som tam, a delicious Thai papaya salad

Som tam can be understood simply as a Thai papaya salad. This is one of the rustic dishes and also a very popular street food of the land of the Golden Temple.

It must be said that mannequins and papaya are the ingredients that make up many dishes in Southeast Asia. However, each country and region has different processing methods, depending on customs and tastes. In Thailand, it is still grated green papaya, but the combination of different ingredients and methods has brought a very unique flavor to this dish.

Som tam is an attractive Thai dish.

The ingredients that make up som tam, in addition to grated papaya, also include broken cowpeas, tomatoes, dried shrimp (can add three slices), chili, lemon, fish sauce. To make this dish, the seller first gives chili, dried shrimp, tomatoes, and cowpeas to pound and then add lemon juice and fish sauce. When all these spices have been mixed, the seller will add grated papaya fibers and lightly pound and mix to allow the spices to penetrate the papaya fibers.

Som tam when completed will have enough sour, spicy, sweet, but the most prominent is still spicy. Simply because Thai cuisine in general favors spicy, this dish is no exception. But of course, this dish also has the characteristic crunch of papaya. Rest assured, even though it is pounded, the skillful way of the professional seller will help the papaya to absorb the taste but still not be crushed.

Som tam is prepared by pounding.

This is a popular street food in Thailand.

Because it is a popular dish in Thailand, som tam can be found in any part of Thailand, but the taste of this dish in each region will be slightly different. Some people say, the closer you are to the mountains of Northern Thailand, the richer the som tam.

In each region, the taste of som tam will be more or less different.

Som tam is widely sold, from restaurants to sidewalk carts, so if you come to Thai La, don’t forget to enjoy this dish. And don’t be afraid to wait in the market to buy and enjoy som tam, feel the typical flavor of Thai cuisine. Because after all, som tam was once in the list of 50 most delicious dishes in the world voted by CNNGo in 2011. And most of all, the price of som tam is very affordable, especially in trolleys, a portion of som tam is only 40-50 baht, equivalent to about 30,000 to 40,000 VND.

Đăng bởi: Đoàn Ngọc Thanh