Som Tum Thai

Why it works

Som tum is made in a clay mortar with a wooden pestle, pounding gently to bruise rather than crush. The bruising is what lets the papaya take on the dressing. The classic balance is sour-sweet-salty with heat, and the test is a taste from the pestle before anything is plated.

Method

1. Pound garlic and chilies in the mortar to a rough paste.
2. Add dried shrimp and palm sugar and pound until the sugar dissolves into the paste.
3. Add long beans and bruise them with a few hits. Add tomatoes and press gently to release juice.
4. Add fish sauce and lime juice. Stir with a spoon in one hand while pounding lightly with the other.
5. Add the papaya and continue the pound-and-scrape motion until the shreds are glossy and slightly softened, about 1 minute.
6. Taste for sour first, then sweet and salty. Fold in peanuts and serve immediately with sticky rice.

Notes and substitutions

• No green papaya? Use shredded green mango, cucumber or carrot. Cucumber makes tum taeng, a real variation.
• For a vegetarian version, skip dried shrimp, use soy sauce or a vegan fish sauce and add a little more lime.