Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum)

   Green papaya salad is the most popular dish among women in Thailand according to a survey I heard on TV there. It is a Northeastern food that is eaten with sticky rice and other Northeastern dishes such as laab, beef salad and bamboo shoot salad.

     The two most popular types of green papaya salad have either dried shrimp or salted crab. Green papaya salad with dried shrimp and peanuts is called som tum thai. The green papaya salad with salted crab is called som tum pbooh. The majority of the ingredients are the same. My mother likes it with both dried shrimp and salted crab.

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 tablespoons palm sugar
- 3/4 lime
- 2 cups green papaya, shredded
- 6 green beans
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried shrimp
- 2 chili peppers
- 5 cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons peanuts, toasted (Optional)

Tips and substitutions
     For a vegetarian som tum, omit the dried shrimp and substitute soy sauce for fish sauce.
     Some people use tamarind in place of lime. Regular sugar can be substituted for palm sugar. I normally omit the peanuts because I prefer it without.
     The balance of fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar and peppers listed here are guidelines. Som tum is an individual dish that you will find you might like your with more, say, lime juice than what the recipe calls for.