Som Tam Thai Salad Dressing

Last week I received a very cute request from one lady to post a recipe for Som Tam Salad. I didn't hesitate for a second, because that definitely is one of my absolute favorites. I learned to make it (again) while I was living in Thailand by my wonderful friend Punch. She did a great job and until today, my family and friends ask for this one over and over again...

Som Tam Thai is a very simple Thai mixture of fresh spices, that together with snake beans (which I never could get in here, in Europe) is enjoyed widely as a dressing traditionally to shredded green papaya. Since 'SOM TAM' means 'Sour pounded', the name reffers to a method rather than a specific dish. Therefore, do not worry about not having green papaya on hand and experiment with other firm vegetabes... In Krabi town, there is this little hidden Som Tam place that only makes these little yummy guys, served with sticky rice. Their menu boasts of at least 20 different salad types with a variety of fresh veggies, such as shredded papaya, green mango, carrots, seafood, radish (daikon), coconut flesh, young bamboo, or even pre-fried shredded yam or potatoes. Yup, little 'french-fries wanna-bees'.

Yesterday, we had our friend Corey over for dinner. I decided to make a nice Thai dinner. It came out pretty good, a great combo of Panaeng vegetable curry (Panaeng Pak), Oyster sauce green leaf stir-fry (Pak Boong Fai Deang), sticky rice (Khao Niaw) and ... coincidentally :

SOM TAM THAI :
(Thai Salad Dressing)

spice ladder: ****

prep time: 7 minutes
servings: 2

(clockwise as shown on the pic)

• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 big ripe tomato
• 1 tbsp roasted peanuts
• 2 tbsp fish sauce *
• 1 tbsp dried shrimps *
  
• 1 tbsp palm (or brown) sugar
• 3 red chilies
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 string beans (I didn't have any)

+ 150g firm shredded vegetables (the most common are raw papaya or raw mango. I have used blanched broccoli and cucumber, cut into "moons" - as shown on the pic above)

* For a vegan Som Tam Thai, substitute fish sauce for soy sauce and simply skip the dried shrimps.

First, prepare all the ingredients: Peel the garlic, chop roughly the chilies and tomatoes. Cut the string beans (if used) in 3 - 4 cm long pieces.
Crush the peanuts roughly and set aside.
Do the same with dried shrimps.

The number one rule when grinding a paste in a mortar is the DRY-TOWARDS-WET rule. Meaning that you should always start with the dried stuff and add other ingredients one by one, according to their moistness, from the driest to the liquid ones. Having said so, I think you got the pattern:
Garlic, chilies, (string beans), tomatoes, lime juice and fish sauce. Now add the peanuts and shrimps and adjust sugar to taste. Add the shredded vegetables, crush here or there and you are done.

Serve with sticky rice and a plate of fresh veggies (traditionally cucumbers, cabbage and Thai basil leaves).

Update (July 31st) :
Today, I used shredded zucchini instead of green papaya. Not bad at all, very juicy and refreshing :)

* This salad is usually prepared in a tall mortar (15 - 20 cm high), so all the veggies fit in. You can make the dressing extra and than simply pour over the shredded vegetables). Not so authentically cool (lacks that impressive 'tam tam tam' sound), but I also do it like that and trust me, its fine.

* THIS IS NOT A PASTE. It means that you are not supposed to grind the hell out of the ingredients, bur just to crush them here and there in a lazy mode... Like this:

On my last trip to Thailand, I ran into one of the souvenier stores to look for 'stuff'. I ran into a gorgeous little collection of hand-drawn postcards of traditional Thai food, accompanied with a recipe. It was so sweet, I had to buy them all. Here is the one for Som Tam Salad. It is slightly different from the one I make, but only slightly...