This week I am not going to review any particular restaurant but write about a very Thai dish made from raw Papaya. I am sure that Som Tum or papaya salad has become known world wide as one of Thailand’s most popular salad. It is not only popular amongst Westerners but also for all Thais. Many people believe that this famous salad came from the north eastern region of the country but in reality this dish was served in the royal court in Bangkok in the central plain long before the Isan style papaya salad came to Bangkok.

            The original recipe for papaya salad in the central plain was then not pounded in a pestle and mortar but mixed by hand and the herbs and spices used in the salad were roasted and pounded into a paste and mixed with the shredded papaya. This original dish was served during the reign of King Rammer IV and it was served with grilled chicken and rice cooked in coconut milk.

            As time went by the original recipe changed to fresh herbs and spices. Garic and chili peppers are pounded together in a pestle and mortar, then palm sugar, lime juice and fish sauce is added with the shredded papaya. Cherry tomatoes and dry shrimp powder is added for more flavor and color. Some people add toasted peanuts to it but I am one of those people that do not like peanuts and always make this addition optional.

            It is indeed important to pound the shredded raw papaya slightly to mix all the ingredients together. The essential oil is released from the papaya and gives this salad a well-rounded taste. Speaking of taste, central plain papaya salad should have a balanced flavor of sweetness from palm sugar, sourness from limejuice and saltiness from fish sauce and ground dry shrimp. This is probably the Soma Tum, which most westerners are exposed to in big hotels, and Thai restaurants, which cater to foreigners.

            You can always recreate this dish yourselves at home but first you will need to invest in a wooden or earthen wear pestle and mortar, both kinds will have a wooden pestle. Now comes the variation on our famous Som Tum salad. Tum Thai or Thai/ central plain Som Tum has some variations with the addition of pickled black crabs but the Som Tum, which you see, sold from push carts with grilled fish or chicken and sticky rice is totally differently from Thai Som Tum. They are called Lao Som Tum or Isan Som Tum.

            The predominant taste is saltiness which is derived from Pla rah and fish sauce. It also has a little sourness to it but Isan Som tum should always be very hot and spicy. The more heat and spiciness it is the more sticky rice you will need to eat and fill yourselves up, that was the idea of the people from the north east where food was not so abundant as in the central plain. So now you will some idea of the difference in our famous papaya salad.

            If you should want to try Isan Som Tum you should ask your Thai maid to make it for you because they usually are from Isan and remind them to make it Isan style or just say Tum Lao. One word of advice is that if you really want to try the Pla Rah, ask then to cook or boil the pla rah first before adding it to the salad. Raw papaya is good for you. It helps your digestive system and they use the lowly papaya in making meat tenderizer as well.