Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)

How to Make Green Papaya Salad – This authentic Thai Som Tum recipe makes a delicious salad with crunchy and tart unripened papaya, beans, and vibrant seasonings. Serve as a refreshing appetizer or side dish this summer!

What is Som Tum?

Som Tum (also Som Tam) is one of the best-known, most loved salads in Thailand and surrounding Southeast Asian countries.

It’s made with hard and tart unripened papaya, long beans, and chopped peanuts for a terrific crunchy slaw-like consistency. And everything is tossed with classic Asian seasonings – including fish sauce, garlic, and chiles for incredibly bold flavors in every bite.

Similarly, Vietnamese papaya salad is also made with thinly sliced green papaya. However, the version from Vietnam tends to also have other shredded veggies, like carrots and cabbage, as well as cooked shrimp and fresh basil. It’s very tasty, but does tend to get a bit more complicated to make at home.

This Thai Green Papaya Salad recipe makes a wonderfully simple, light, and refreshing dish that can be enjoyed on its own, as an appetizer, or served as a side with your favorite Thai main dishes!

Ingredients You Need

A traditional Thai salad includes simple, wholesome, and wonderfully vibrant ingredients. To make this classic Som Tum recipe you need:

• Green papaya – hard and unripened
• Garlic cloves – peeled
• Scallions – green and white parts separated
• Thai bird chiles – seeded and sliced
• Dry roasted peanuts – or cashews, for those with a peanut allergy
• Fish sauce – can sub with soy sauce or tamari
• Lime – zested and juiced
• Sugar – granulated white sugar or coconut sugar
• Long beans – also known as snake beans (or skinny green beans), cut into segments
• Roma tomato – seeded and chopped

Pro Tip: You can usually find green papayas, long beans, Thai chiles, and fish sauce at all Asian markets, and many large grocery stores with a good “international” section.

How to Make Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)

Instructions

From start to finish this dish is ready in under 30 minutes. It’s great to chill before serving, and can even be made ahead!

The first step to making the best Som Tum Thai salad is to prepare the unripened papaya. Use a vegetable peeler to carefully peel the papaya. Take care to not scrape off much of the flesh.

Next, cut the hard flesh into long “julienne” slivers. Do this by using a julienne tool, or by tapping a large chef’s knife rapidly over the surface of the papaya, making many slashes in the same direction. Then shave them off, perpendicular to the slashes. You will need 6-7 cups of julienne papaya shreds in total.

Place the papaya slaw in a large bowl. Then pile ice over the papaya and fill the bowl with cold water. Let the slaw soak in the cold water to firm for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. This helps to keep the firm texture of the green papaya crisp and fresh.

Now pull out a mortar and pestle. Place the garlic cloves, the white ends of the scallions, and the chopped chiles in the bowl. Use the pestle to mash the ingredients until very soft and broken.

Then add in the peanuts and lime zest. Smash and break the peanuts into fine pieces.

Now pour in the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, long bean segments, and tomatoes. Mix and smash all the ingredients together.

Once the papaya has soaked for at least 10 minutes, drain off the ice and water. Move the papaya to a large salad bowl.

Pour the smashed dressing mixture over the papaya. Toss well to coat.

Chop the scallion greens and sprinkle them over the salad. Sprinkle additional chopped peanuts over the top, if desired.

Chill until ready to serve.

Side Notes For This Som Tam Thai Recipe

You can find green papayas, long beans, thai chiles, and fish sauce at all Asian markets, and many large grocery stores with a good “international” section.

This salad can also be made with green mangos and dried shrimp.

This recipe is really great for making ahead of time. Kept covered in the refrigerator, Green Papaya Salad will keep well for at least a week.

Get the Full Printable Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad Recipe) Below!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Green Papaya Salad Healthy?

Som Tum has a lot of the same benefits that you get from vegetable salads, including fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It offers plenty of healthy nutrients without being high in calories, carbs, or fats. Experience exotic taste and flavor with all these amazing benefits!

What to Serve with Green Papaya Salad

Enjoy Som Tum as a side with classic dishes like Easy Chicken Pad Thai, Tom Yum Soup (Hot and Sour Soup), and Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce.

Use it as a sweet slaw on your favorite east Asian-inspired sandwiches. Try Som Tum on a roll with Sweet Chili Pulled Pork, on a Vietnamese Bahn Mi, or add to Keto Larb Rolls for some extra flavor and crunch.

And don’t forget the Thai Mango Sticky Rice Pudding for dessert!

Green Papaya Salad Recipe Variations

• Swap fish sauce with soy sauce or tamari to make a vegetarian and vegan-friendly Thai salad.
• If you can’t find unripened papaya you can substitute it with green unripened mango.
• As-is this Som Tum recipe has just a bit of heat from the Thai chilies. Use only 1 or 2 of these chilies for a fairly mild version, or include 3 to 4 to really kick up the spiciness.
• If you can’t or don’t want to use peanuts, swap them with chopped cashews.
• You could also add sweet cherry tomatoes sliced with a sharp knife, if you can’t find roma tomatoes.
• Other ingredients often added are bell peppers and dried shrimp.

Som Tum Storage Suggestions

This recipe is a fabulous make-ahead dish. Kept covered in the refrigerator, Green Papaya Salad will keep well for at least a week.

Prepare a large batch before having friends over for a summer dinner, and save extra to enjoy with lunches all week!

Looking for More Easy and Refreshing Salad Recipes?

• Crunchy Beet Carrot Slaw
• Zucchini and Green Chutney Salad
• Healthy Rainbow Chopped Salad
• Raw Beet and Sweet Potato Salad
• Caribbean Coleslaw Recipe

 See the printable recipe card below for the Nutrition information including calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat, sodium, fiber, sugar, and vitamin percentages.

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