Thai🥬 Vegetables

Green Papaya Salad with Fermented Fish Sauce (Som Tum Pla Ra)

Name: Green Papaya Salad with Fermented Fish Sauce (Som Tum Pla Ra)
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: ~1 medium green papaya; ~3-4 cloves garlic; ~2-3 fresh Thai chilies; ~2-3 dried Thai chilies; ~1-2 tbsp palm sugar; ~1 cup long beans; ~2 medium tomatoes; ~3-4 tbsp fresh lime juice; ~1 tbsp tamarind paste; ~2 tbsp fish sauce; ~1-2 tbsp fermented fish sauce (pla ra); ~¼ tsp MSG (monosodium glutamate); ~2 tbsp pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds; ~½ medium carrot

🍽 Serves 2

A classic Isan-style green papaya salad featuring deep umami flavors from fermented fish sauce (pla ra). This version is known for its intensely savory, spicy, and complex taste profile, made by pounding garlic, chilies, palm sugar, fresh lime juice, and the distinctive pla ra fermented fish condiment.

Adapted from a video by Pailin's Kitchen

Thai Chef Makes Green Papaya Salad (som tum pla ra)

Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

green papayapeeled and julienned, roughly one medium papaya for 2 servings~1 mediumest.
garlic~3-4 clovesest.
fresh Thai chiliescan be mixed with dried Thai chilies~2-3est.
dried Thai chiliesoptional, can be used alongside fresh chilies~2-3est.
palm sugarfinely chopped for easy dissolution~1-2 tbspest.
long beansoptional, cracked to absorb dressing~1 cupest.
tomatoescan use large tomatoes or cherry/grape tomatoes, bruised to release juices~2 mediumest.

Steps

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1
Peel the green papaya thoroughly to remove all dark green skin. Julienne the papaya using one of three methods: traditional knife technique (make vertical cuts, then shave off thin layers), Thai julienne peeler, or hand-slicing into thin sticks. Optional: add julienned carrot for color. Set aside.
2
Add garlic and fresh/dried Thai chilies to the mortar and pestle. Pound into a paste, ensuring no large chunks remain.
3
Add finely chopped palm sugar. Use the moisture from the garlic and chilies to help dissolve it. Pound several times until the sugar mostly dissolves into a paste.
4
Add long beans if using. Pound gently to crack them open without pulverizing—this allows them to absorb flavor throughout rather than just on the surface.
5
Add tomatoes and bruise them gently to release their juices. Using a spoon, scrape the sugar from the bottom of the mortar and mix with the tomato juices to create a balanced dressing.
6
Squeeze fresh lime juice into the mortar. If using whole fresh limes, include the skin to extract essential oils and flavor. Optionally add tamarind paste.
7
Add fish sauce and pla ra (fermented fish sauce)—the signature ingredient that gives this version its distinctive umami depth and character.
8
If desired, add a light sprinkle of MSG (monosodium glutamate). This is traditional in Thailand and Laos and further elevates the umami.
9
Add all the julienned papaya to the mortar. Using the 'pound and flip' technique: flip the contents so the dressing coats the papaya, then pound gently a few times. The goal is to bruise and soften the papaya so it absorbs the dressing.
10
Plate the salad and garnish with pumpkin seeds or traditional sesame seeds. Serve alongside sticky rice, crispy pork rinds, or other accompaniments.

Green Papaya Salad with Fermented Fish Sauce (Som Tum Pla Ra)

Ingredients

Steps

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