Thailand
Photo: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, croppedSom tam
ส้มตำ
/sôm tam/som TAHM
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- Taste
- SourSpicyFresh
- Made with
- VegetablesNuts & seeds
History
Som tam means "pounded sour", and that is how it is made: shredded green papaya bruised in a clay mortar with garlic, chillies, lime, fish sauce and palm sugar. The salad comes from the Lao people on both banks of the Mekong, and Isan, Thailand's north-east, is where Thais learned it. Papaya itself arrived from the Americas, so the dish in its current form is probably only a couple of centuries old. As workers from Isan moved to Bangkok in the 20th century, som tam came with them and became a national street food. Isan versions add fermented fish sauce called pla ra; Bangkok often makes it sweeter with peanuts and dried shrimp.
Sources
