Som Tam - Thai Papaya Salad with dry shrimp 1

Som Tam, is a popular green papaya salad from the Thai cuisine and well known for its exotic, slightly tart from the green papaya combined well with other spices of red chilli paste and saltiness of fish sauce and sweetness of tomato makes this an awesome and wholesome salad to relish. This Thai Papaya salad with dry shrimp is truly unique to taste, highly flavorful and makes a great impression to start with. It’s also quite easy to make, low calorie, low fat and extremely healthy and nutritious.

Generally a classic Green papaya salad is a spicy salad made from shredded unripe papaya popularly eaten throughout Southeast Asia. Green papaya is eaten in salads in most Southeast Asian countries with each region having its own version in its way of preparing and taste. Green papayas are simply the immature papayas which have not yet begun to ripen. When green, they have white flesh, a neutral flavor and crunchy carrot like texture making them perfect for salads.

In Thailand, this traditional Som Tam salad is made with a mortar and pestle crushing fresh garlic and chilies to release their flavors. Then the long beans, dried shrimps and peanuts are added and crushed to not only tenderize them but it also helps them absorb more dressing. Lastly tomatoes, shredded green papaya and dressing goes in and is mixed well together.

Som Tam, Thai Papaya Salad with Dry Shrimp gives an amazing taste combined with five main tastes, a medley of sour lime, hot chilli, saltiness from fish sauce and a tinge of sweetness. They also have a fantastic crunchiness, crispness and tender texture on bite. This makes a refreshing salad on a hot summer day. The use of papaya actually doesn’t mean that this is a sweet salad as this salad is actually a savory dish. Unripe papayas have a slightly tangy flavor and a crisp and firm texture.

A bowl of Som Tam, Papaya salad with dry shrimp is often served with sticky rice and grilled chicken. It can also be eaten with fresh rice noodles or simply eaten as a snack by itself. This dish is also often served with raw vegetables on the side to mitigate the spiciness of the dish. There are various variations in making this salad with use of unripe mangoes, apples, cucumbers, carrots and other firm vegetables or unripe fruits.

How to prepare Som Tam – Thai Papaya Salad with Dry Shrimp:

Ingredients:

1. Raw Papaya             -       1 no


2. Tomato                    -       2 nos


3. Coriander leaves      -       1 bunch


4. Fish sauce               -       1 tbsp


5. Red Chilli paste       -       1 tbsp


6. Garlic                       -       4 nos


7. Ginger                      -       10 gms


8. Jaggery                    -       1 tsp


9. Dry Shrimp              -       20 gms


10. Peanuts                   -       ¼ cup


11. Carrot                      -       2 nos


12. Beans                      -       3 nos

Direction:

1. Take a mortar pestle and ginger, garlic.


2. Crush it well and add red chilly paste, carrot juliennes, beans, jaggery and crush.


3. Add fish sauce, coriander leaves, cut tomatoes, raw papaya and crush.


4. Transfer this into a bowl and mix well.


5. Take a pan, add dry shrimps and slightly roast them.


6. Add the roasted shrimps to the crushed mixture and add roasted peanuts over and mix well.


7. Rest this for 5 minutes and then it’s ready to serve.

Tip: While choosing a green papaya, be sure that the papaya on whole is very green with a smooth surface. And if you are a vegan, you could leave out the dried shrimps and substitute white soya sauce for the fish sauce. If you’re a health freak and like to indulge in eating nutritious and healthy salads, then do check out for some easy to prepare, amazing and super delicious at: www.vahrehvah.com You could always reach me at my below links:

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