Green Papaya Salad
I was never able to successfully eat Som Tam until I learned how to make it from May Kaidee’s sister Duan in Chiang Mai. The beauty of being able to make your own Thai food is that you can leave out any culinary offenders (in my case, the overuse of chili) to suit your individual tastes. This recipe was adapted from May Kaidee’s, and is vegan and free of gluten and wheat.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups grated green papaya
- 1/4 cup tomato, diced
- 4-5 green beans, cut into 2 cm pieces
- 1/2 – 1 each red and green Thai chilis, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup raw cashew halves, chopped or broken by hand
- 2 tbs lime juice
- 1 tbs nama shoyu
- 1 tbs palm sugar
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in a mortar and beat with pestle until well mixed. Alternatively, mix ingredients in a bowl and pound with a heavy object such as a meat tenderizer or potato masher. Leave mixture to sit for 5 minutes for flavors to infuse. Serve immediately.