Green papaya salad ( km, បុកល្ហុង, lo, ຕຳຫມາກຫຸ່ງ and th, ส้มตำ) is a spicy

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

made from shredded unripe papaya. It was possibly created by the

Lao people The Lao people are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, who speak the eponymous language of the Kra–Dai languages. They are the majority ethnic group of Laos, making up 53.2% of the total population. The majority of Lao people adhere t ...

but is eaten throughout

Continental Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

(

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

, Laos,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, Sibsongbanna or Sipsong Panna ( Tham: , New Tai Lü script: ; ; th, สิบสองปันนา; lo, ສິບສອງພັນນາ; shn, သိပ်းသွင်ပၼ်းၼႃး; my, စစ်ဆောင်� ...

(from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

), and considered a

national dish A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...

in both Laos and Thailand. ''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

'' included a variation on their list of the ''World's 50 most delicious foods.''

History

Papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

and

chili peppers Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

were introduced to Southeast Asia by the Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the 17th century from the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. Although it is unknown when papayas entered Laos specifically, they had already been integrated into

Lao culture Laos developed its culture and customs as the inland crossroads of trade and migration in Southeast Asia over millennia. As of 2012 Laos has a population of roughly 6.4 million spread over 236,800 km2 (91,400 sq miles), yielding one of th ...

by the time of

Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix, M.E.P. (24 October 1805 – 18 June 1862) was vicar apostolic of Eastern Siam. Born in Combertault, France, he was consecrated as a priest of the Société des Missions Etrangères on 31 May 1828. On 3 June 1838 he was a ...

's visit in 1836. Thai historian Sujit Wongthes has speculated that the green papaya salad originated in the communities of ethnic Chinese–Lao settlers living in what is now Central Thailand, who adopted the ancient Lao tradition of preparing salads from fruits, called ''tam som'', to make salads from papayas. The new dish became known as ''som tam'' during the early Rattanakosin period (late 18th to early 19th centuries) and, along with the papaya, then spread to today's

Northeast Thailand Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provin ...

following the construction of the Northeastern railway line during the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. The dish became more popular after the opening of

Mittraphap Road Mittraphap Road (, , ) or Highway 2 (, ) is one of the four primary highways in Thailand, along with Phahonyothin Road (Highway 1), Sukhumvit Road (Highway 3), and Phetkasem Road (Highway 4). It runs from Saraburi to Nong Khai. The road was origi ...

in 1957, helping bring new papaya cultivars into the region, and has since become widely adopted by the ethnic Lao people of both Isan and Laos. Likewise, the hot flavour also spread to Isan and Laos from Central Thailand, which had been introduced to chilli peppers first. However, chilli peppers, like papayas, were already fully integrated in the Lao territory by the time French explorer

Henri Mouhot Alexandre Henri Mouhot (May 15, 1826 — November 10, 1861) was a French naturalist and explorer of the mid-19th century. He was born in Montbéliard, Doubs, France, near the Swiss border, but spent his childhood in Russia and, possibly, parts ...

visited Laos, in 1861, and also in the Lao traditional culinary recipes. Furthermore, during the 1950s and 1960s, green papaya salad and other Lao dishes were rarely known in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

and could only be found around the boxing stadium that gathered boxers and fans from Northeastern Thailand, as well as in mobile food carts outside construction sites with workers from Northeastern Thailand and gas stations serving long-distance bus drivers. During the standardization of the Thai national cuisine, green papaya salad was among the Northeastern or Lao dishes to be included into the Thai national cuisine and modified by reducing the amount of chilli peppers and increasing the amount of sugar. Green papaya salad is considered a

in both Laos and Thailand.

Preparation

The dish combines the five main

basic taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

s: sourness of the lime, the spiciness of the chili,

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

iness and

savoriness Umami ( from ja, 旨味 ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and ...

of the

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, P ...

, and sweetness of

palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar is sometimes qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed s ...

. The ingredients are mixed and pounded in a mortar, which is reflected in the Khmer, Lao and Thai names for the dish that literally mean "pounded papaya". In Laos, green papaya salad is one of the traditional staples of the Lao. Pounded salads in Laos all fall under the parent category of ''tam som'', which may or may not contain green papaya, however, when no specific type of ''tam som'' is mentioned, it is generally understood to refer to green papaya salad. For absolute clarity, however, the name ''tam maak hoong'' may be used, since this name means "pounded papaya". In Thailand, it is customary that a customer ask the preparer to make the dish suited to his or her tastes. To specifically refer to the original style of papaya salad as prepared in Laos or Isan, it is known as or ''som tam Lao'' or simply as ''tam Lao'' and the dish as prepared in central Thailand may be referred to as ''som tam Thai''. Traditionally, the local variety of green papaya salad in the streets of Bangkok is very spicy due to the addition of a fistful of chopped hot

bird's eye chili Bird's eye chili or Thai chili (Thai: ''prik ki nu'', พริกขี้หนู, literally "mouse dung chili" owing to its shape) is a chili pepper, a variety from the species ''Capsicum annuum'' native to Mexico. Cultivated across Southea ...

. However, with its rising popularity among tourists, it is now often served less spicy as it used to be in the past.

Additional ingredients

Together with the papaya, some or most of the following secondary items are added and pounded in the mortar with the pestle: * Asparagus beans *Brined "rice field crabs". These belong to the freshwater crab genera ''Sayamia'', ''Chulathelphusa'', and ''Esanthelphusa'' (previously classified as part of the genus ''

Somanniathelphusa ''Somanniathelphusa'' is a genus of freshwater crabs found in southeast China, Taiwan, and southeast Asia. It includes the following species: *''Somanniathelphusa amoyensis'' Naiyanetr & Dai, 1997 *''Somanniathelphusa araeochela'' Naiyanetr & Da ...

''), which all belong to the Gecarcinucid crab subfamily

Parathelphusinae ''Arachnothelphusa rhadamanthysi''Cave crab, Borneo Parathelphusinae is a subfamily of freshwater crabs, which was formerly placed in the family Parathelphusidae; they are mainly found in South and Southeast Asia, but also found elsewhere in ...

. found in flooded rice fields and canals.

Isan people The Isan people ( th, คนอีสาน, , ; lo, ຄົນອີສານ; my, အီသန် လူမျိုး) or literally Northeastern people are an ethnic group group native to Northeastern Thailand with an estimated population of ...

eat the entire crab, including the shell. *

Chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

Dried shrimp Dried shrimp are shrimp that have been sun-dried and shrunk to a thumbnail size. They are used in many East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisines, imparting a unique umami taste. A handful of shrimp is generally used for dishes. The fla ...

Fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, P ...

Garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer wit ...

* Hog plums *

Lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

slice and lime juice *

Palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar is sometimes qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed s ...

Shrimp paste Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are eithe ...

Fish paste Fish paste is fish which has been chemically broken down by a fermentation process until it reaches the consistency of a soft creamy purée or paste. Alternatively it refers to cooked fish which has been physically broken down by pounding, grin ...

*Raw

Thai eggplant Thai eggplant ( th, มะเขือ, ') is the name for several varieties of eggplant used in Southeast Asian cuisines, most often of the eggplant species ''Solanum melongena''. They are also cultivated in India and Sri Lanka and feature in ...

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

tomatoes (green or ripe) Green papaya salad is often served with

glutinous rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

and ''

kai yang Kai yang or gai yang ( th, ไก่ย่าง, , literally meaning "grilled chicken"), also known as kai ping or gai ping ( th, ไก่ปิ้ง), or pīng kai ( lo, ປີ້ງໄກ່, ), is a dish originating from the Lao people of ...

''/''ping gai'' (grilled chicken). It can also be eaten with fresh

rice noodles Rice noodles, or simply rice noodle, are noodles made with rice flour and water as the principal ingredients. Sometimes ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are added in order to improve the transparency or increase the gelatinous and che ...

or simply as a snack by itself with, for instance, crispy

pork rind Pork rind is the culinary term for the skin of a pig. It can be used in many different ways. It can be rendered, fried in fat, baked, or roasted to produce a kind of pork cracklings (US) or scratchings (UK); these are served in small pieces ...

s. The dish is often accompanied by raw green vegetables such as

water spinach ''Ipomoea aquatica'', widely known as water spinach, is a semi- aquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots. ''I. aquatica'' is generally believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is widely cultivate ...

and

white cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nbs ...

wedges on the side to mitigate the spiciness of the dish.

Variations

It is believed to have originated in Laos, from where it was exported into Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Variations of the dish are found throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and as well as in the West, where it is more commonly known by its Thai name. A non-spicy green papaya salad version also exists in Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, which is much sweeter; it often contains crushed peanuts and is less likely to have fish paste or brined crab. Dried

brine shrimp ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp. It is the only genus in the family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD from Urmia La ...

are used in this Central Thai version. There are also versions that make use of unripe

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

es,

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

s and other firm vegetables or unripe fruit. Besides using varieties of fruits or vegetables as the main ingredient a popular option is to use vermicelli rice noodles wherein the dish is known as ''tam sua''. Instead of papaya, other ingredients can be used as the main ingredient. Popular variations in Laos and Thailand include the salad with: *Cucumber, usually the small variety (''tam maak taeng'', ''tam taengkwa''); *Green and unripe mango (''tam maak muang'', ''tam mamuang''); *Green and unripe

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s (''tam maak kuai'', ''tam kluai''); *Hard and unripe santol (''tam krathon''); *

Banana flower A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s (''tam hua pli''); * Malay gooseberry (''tam mayom''); *

Pomelo The pomelo ( ), ''Citrus maxima'', is the largest citrus fruit from the family Rutaceae and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefr ...

(''tam som o''); *'' Mu yo'' sausage (''tam mu yo''); *Mixed fruit (''tam phonlamai ruam''); *

Coconut rice Coconut rice is a dish prepared by soaking white rice in coconut milk or cooking it with coconut flakes. As both the coconut and the rice-plant are commonly found in the tropics all-around the world, coconut rice too is found in many cultures th ...

(''khao man som tam''); *'' Tam Thaad'', a papaya salad that has many ingredients present in the same tray instead of the dish for more convenience to eat in a group and it can also give a feeling of better taste.

Reception

The Thai variation ''som tam'' has been listed at number 46 on ''World's 50 most delicious foods'' compiled by ''

CNN Go CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...

'' in 2011 and 2018.

Gallery

File:Som tam thai.JPG, Thai green papaya salad with peanuts File:Som tam pu.jpg, Green papaya salad with brined rice paddy crabs (''som tam pu'') File:Tam phonla mai ruam.jpg, Green papaya salad with mixed fruit (''tam phonlamai ruam'') File:Somtam huapli832.jpg, Green papaya salad with

banana flower A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s (''tam hua pli'') File:Tam mu yo.jpg, Green papaya salad with '' mu yo'' sausage (''tam mu yo'') File:Tam mamuang pla haeng thot.jpg, A variation of the salad with green mango instead of papaya and dried

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

(''tam mamuang pla haeng thot'') File:Tam maphrao on sen mi krop 02.jpg, ''Tam maphrao on sen mi krop'': a variation with soft coconut meat and deep-fried rice noodle

History

Preparation

Additional ingredients

Variations

Reception

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading