Eats: Making Som Tam (with photos!)

About a couple of weeks back,  I attended a Sunday farewell BBQ for Peter. He is one of our korean mates at church who is leaving for Thailand to be with his family. 

By popular request, the Thai girls made som tam, a raw green papaya salad which is a favourite dish among all Thai people as well as foreigners.

Being a person who loves her food, I took the opportunity to take pictures of the entire process!!

A well made Som Tam is both salty, sweet, spicy and sour all in one go! It uses a variety of Asian vegs, with some shrimp paste, fish sauce, dried shrimp, small black crabs, and lemon or lime juice squeeze.

Using a special grater which can be found in most Thai Asian groceries to grate off the thick green skin.

Then give it a wash under the water. Then continue grating until you reach the seed pods.

Some of the other ingredients in som tam  includes cherry tomatoes, and long beans.

Special clay pestle and mortar. It uses a lot of bird chilli, or chili padi, as Malaysians call it.

Cooked crabs in som tam to give it that seafood meaty taste.

Gula Melaka, or palm sugar melt in hot water for that sweetness.

Juice of one of one or two lemons for the sourness. And fish oil for the saltiness.

Som Tam made using noodles.

What I observed is that there is no one way of making Som Tam. There will be a different taste and variation to the salad with each different person who makes it.