Som tam

If you’ve never tried the famous Thai salad som tam then here’s how to make it yourself… Also known as “green papaya salad,” this traditional take on the recipe uses unripe papaya, but if this is unavailable you can try unripe mango or a combination of finely shredded white cabbage and mooli instead. The ‘unripeness’ of the fruit brings both fragrance and texture

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 clove of garlic

2 small Thai red chillies, chopped

1tbsp dried shrimps

1tbsp palm sugar or soft brown sugar

Juice of 1 lime

1tbsp fish sauce

½ a green papaya or unripe mango, peeled and shredded (or grated)

1 carrot, peeled and grated

3 cherry tomatoes, quartered

50g French beans, cut into 2cm lengths

2tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped

¼ of an iceberg lettuce, chopped

Method

In a pestle and mortar, grind together the garlic with the chillies and dried shrimps until you have a paste.

Add the sugar, lime juice and fish sauce and mix well. The secret to this dressing is having a good balance between these three ingredients. Keep tasting the mixture as you do it, adding more of each as you like.

In a large bowl, toss this dressing with all the remaining ingredients except the iceberg lettuce.

Arrange the lettuce on a serving plate and top with the dressed ingredients.