Thai restaurants · UKnearme

Som Tam in the UK: what it is, how to order it, where to find it

Quick answer

Som tam is green papaya salad pounded with chilli, lime, fish sauce, palm sugar, tomato, long beans and peanuts. Fiery, sour and crunchy, the taste of north-eastern Thailand (Isaan) and a good test of whether a UK kitchen cooks Isaan food.

Calories and nutrition

Calories
180

120–260 kcal

Protein
6 g
Carbs
26 g
Fat
7 g
Salt
2.8 g

Portion: One plate, about 250 g.

Low in calories; peanuts and palm sugar add most of what there is.

Estimates for a typical portion, based on standard UK and USDA food composition data. Actual values depend on the recipe and the restaurant.

What som tam is

Shredded green papaya is bruised in a mortar with garlic, bird's-eye chilli, long beans, cherry tomatoes, dried shrimp, roasted peanuts, palm sugar, fish sauce and lots of lime. The pounding lets the papaya take the dressing while keeping its crunch. Eaten with sticky rice and grilled chicken (gai yang), the Isaan trinity. Meant to be seriously hot, sour and salty.

How to judge it

Crunchy, intensely sour and hot, papaya still crisp, dressing sharp with lime and fish sauce, peanuts and dried shrimp for depth. A limp sweet version is the tourist one. Made to order in a mortar, adjusted for heat, is the real thing.

Som tam and Isaan food

A proper fierce som tam signals a kitchen cooking Isaan food; its grilled meats, larb and sticky rice will be worth ordering too.

Where it is done well in the UK

Isaan and north-eastern Thai restaurants and street-food places. The list below shows areas with the most Thai restaurants.

How to order it

Order som tam and say how hot you want it; the authentic version is fierce. It should be crunchy and sharply sour, not sweet and limp. Eat with sticky rice and grilled chicken. A good som tam signals a real Isaan kitchen.

Where it's done well

UK councils with the most som tam specialists, by restaurant name, in our directory.

Restaurants near you

Search by postcode or use your location to find restaurants likely to serve som tam near you.

Make it at home

Serves 2 · 20 min

Ingredients

  • 300 g green papaya, shredded
  • 2 garlic cloves, 2-6 bird's-eye chillies
  • 4 long beans, 6 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp dried shrimp, 2 tbsp roasted peanuts
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp lime, 1 tbsp palm sugar

Method

  1. Pound the garlic and chilli, then the long beans, in a large mortar.
  2. Add palm sugar, fish sauce and lime; pound to dissolve.
  3. Add papaya, tomatoes, dried shrimp and peanuts; pound-and-turn gently so the papaya bruises but stays crunchy.
  4. Balance hot-sour-salty-sweet; serve with sticky rice.

The pounding bruises the papaya so it takes the dressing while staying crunchy. Adjust the chilli to taste.