Som tam

For the film, see Somtum (film).

A dish of som tam is, of Lao origin, made with papaya, beans, chili and lime

Way of cutting the papaya during som tam preparation

Street vendor from Isan pounding som tam in Bangkok

Som tam, kai yang (grilled chicken) and khao niao (sticky rice) is a popular combination

Som tam or som tum (Thai: ส้มตำ, pronounced [sôm tam]) also known as tam mak hoong (Isan: ตำบักหุ่ง, pronounced [tam bàk hùŋ]) is a spicy salad of Lao origin, the standard form of which is made from shredded unripened papaya. Som tam is the Thai version of the Laotian dish tam mak hoong and is similar to the Cambodian dish bok l'hong. It is listed at number 46 on World's 50 most delicious foods complied by CNN Go in 2011.

Preparation

The dish combines the four main tastes of Thai cuisine: sour lime, hot chili, salty fish sauce, and sweetness added by palm sugar. The ingredients are mixed and pounded in a mortar; the Thai name, ส้มตำ (som tam) means 'sour pounded'.

In Thailand, it is customary that a customer ask the preparer to make the dish suited to his or her tastes. To specifically refer to the dish as prepared traditionally in Laos or Isan, it is known as ส้มตำลาว or som tam lao or simply as tam lao.

Basic ingredients

Traditionally, a typical som tam will contain some primary ingredient, a vegetable or fruit chopped in small pieces, like:

• Papaya (Thai: มะละกอ [máʔláʔkɔː]; Isan: บักหุ่ง mak hoong), while still green and unripe. This is one of the most common main ingredients.
• Yardlong beans, (Thai: ถั่วฝักยาว [tʰùə fàk jaːw]; Isan: หมากถั่ว [màːk tʰùə]; Lao: ໝາກຖ່ັວ)
• Santol (Thai: กระท้อน; Lao: ໝາກຕ້ອງ), while still hard and unripe
• Cucumber (Thai: แตง), usually the small variety
• Banana (Thai: กล้วย), while still green and unripe
• Banana flower (Thai: หัวปลี). Somtam Hua Plii
• Mango (Thai: มะม่วง), while still green and unripe
• Mayom (Thai: มะยม)

Additional ingredients

To the basic ingredient some or most of the following secondary items are added and pounded in the mortar with the pestle:

• Chili (Thai: พริก [pʰrík]; Isan: พิก [pʰík]; Lao: ພິກ [pʰík])
• Sugar (traditionally palm sugar)
• Garlic (Thai: กระเทียม [kra.tʰiəm]; Isan: กะเทียม [ka.tʰiəm]; Lao: ພະກເທິຍມ [paktʰiːəm])
• Lime (Thai/Isan: มะนาว [manaːw]; Lao: ມະນາວ)
• Fish sauce (Thai: น้ำปลา [nám plaː]; Lao: ນ້ຳປາ [nám paː])
• Brined Crabs (Thai: ปูเค็ม [puː kʰem]; Isan: ปูดอง [puː dɔːŋ]; Lao: ປູດອງ [puː dɔːŋ]). These are not marine crabs, but local salted black crabs (Thai: ปูนา ricefield crab) found in the flooded ricefields and canals. Isaan people eat the entire crab, including the shell.
• Shrimp Paste (Thai/Isan: กะปิ [kapìʔ]; Lao: ກະປີ)
• Pla ra (Thai: ปลาร้า [plaː ráː]; Isan: ปาแดก [paː dɛ̀ːk]; Lao: ປາແດກ)
• Tomatoes (Thai: มะเขือเทศ [máʔ.kʰɯ̌ə tʰêːt]; Isan: หมากเลน [màːk leːn]; Lao: ໝາກເລ່ນ); Isan people also refer to tomatoes as มะเขอเคอ ([makʰɤ̌ːkʰɤː]), usually a quite small variety.
• Hog Plums (Thai/Isan: มะกอก [makɔ̀ːk]; Lao: ມະກອກ)
• Raw eggplant (Thai: มะเขือ), the small Thai variety.

Som tam is often served with sticky rice (Thai/Isan: ข้าวเหนียว [kʰâːw nǐow]; Lao: ເຂົ້າໜຽວ) and kai yang (Thai: ไก่ย่าง [kàj jâːŋ]; Isan: ไก่ย่าง Lao pronunciation: [kàj ɲâːŋ]; Lao: ປິງໄກ່ [piŋ ɡaj]). It is also sometimes served over rice noodles and raw vegetables to mitigate the spiciness of the dish, or simply as a snack by itself with crispy pork rinds.

Variations

Variations of the dish are found throughout Laos and Thailand, as well as in the West, where it is more commonly known by its Thai version and Thai name. A similar dish is also eaten in Cambodia, where it is known as bok l'hong.

The Central Thai version (som tam Thai) tends to be mild in comparison and much sweeter; it often contains crushed peanuts, and is less likely to have padaek or brined crab. These last are eaten raw, and the Thai government periodically issues health warnings about the risk of hepatitis. Dried brine shrimp are used in this Central Thai version, commonly referred to as ส้มตำรามา or som tam rama. There are also versions made using unripe mangoes, apples, cucumbers, carrots, and other firm vegetables or unripe fruit. Most of these were invented by Thai students in the United States or United Kingdom, where unripe papaya are hard to find.

Gallery

• 

  Tam phonla mai ruam: a variation of the dish with mixed fruit

• 

  Som tam huapli: a variation with banana flower

• 

  Tam mu yo: a variation with mu yo sausage

• 

  Tam mamuang pla haeng thot: a variation with green mango and dried anchovies

• 

  Tam maphrao on sen mi krop: a variation with soft coconut meat and deep-fried rice noodle

See also

• Bok l'hong
• Tam mak hoong (Laotian Papaya Salad)

Further reading

• Cummings, Joe. (2000). World Food: Thailand. UK: Lonely Planet Publishers. pp. 157–8. ISBN 1864500263
• Williams, China ‘’et al.’’. (). ‘’Southeast Asia on a Shoestring: Big Trips on Small Budgets.’’ Lonely Planet. p. 31. ISBN 1741041643
• Brissenden, Rosemary. (2007). Southeast Asian food: Classic and Modern Dishes from Indonesia, Malaysia, .. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 434 – 439. ISBN 0794604889
• McDermoot, Nancie. (1992). Real Thai: The Best of Thailand’s Regional Cooking. Chronicle Books. pp. 121 – 146. ISBN 0811800172

External links

• Som Tam Thai recipe from realthairecipes.com
• SomTam (ส้มตํา)
• Vegetarian Som Tam Recipe from Thailand Travel & Food
• Som Tam Bla-rah (with fermented fish paste from Northeast Thailand)
• Online Video Recipe: Som Tam
• Green Papaya Salad Recipes Som Tam