Som tam
Encyclopedia
Isan language
Isan language is the collective name for the dialects of the Lao language as they are spoken in Thailand. It is spoken by approximately 20 million people, which is nearly one-third of the entire population of Thailand, predominantly in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand. There are also large...
: ตำบักหุ่ง, tam bàk hùŋ) is a spicy salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
, the standard form of which is made from shredded unripened papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
. Som tam is similar to the Laotian dish tam mak hung and the Cambodian dish bok l'hong
Bok l'hong
Bok l'hong is the Khmer version of a dish popularly known in English as papaya salad. The word l'hong means papaya in Khmer. The word bok refers to the ingredients being beaten with a mortar and pestle.Despite the use of papaya, which one may think of as sweet, this salad is actually savoury...
. It is listed at number 46 on World's 50 most delicious foods complied by CNN Go in 2011.
Preparation
The dish combines the four main tastes of Thai cuisine: sour lime, hot chili, saltSalt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
y fish sauce, and sweetness added by palm sugar
Palm sugar
Palm sugar was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm, the date palm or sugar date palm . Now it is also made from the sap of the sago, arenga pinnata and coconut palms, and may be sold as "arenga sugar" or "coconut sugar".-Description:It is quickly gaining popularity in the...
. The ingredients are mixed and pounded in a mortar
Mortar and pestle
A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix solid substances . The pestle is a heavy bat-shaped object, the end of which is used for crushing and grinding. The mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, ceramic or stone...
; the Thai name, ส้มตำ (som tam) means 'sour pounded'.
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 dish as prepared traditionally in Laos or Isan, it is known as ส้มตำลาว or som tam lao or simply as tam lao.
Basic ingredients
Traditionally, a typical som tam will contain some primary ingredient, a vegetable or fruit chopped in small pieces, like:- PapayaPapayaThe papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
( máʔláʔkɔː; Isan: บักหุ่ง bak hung), while still green and unripe. This is one of the most common main ingredients. - Yardlong beanYardlong beanVigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis, the yardlong bean, is also known as bora, the long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean...
s, (Thai: ถั่วฝักยาว tʰùə fàk jaːw; Isan: หมากถั่ว màːk tʰùə; Lao: ໝາກຖ່ັວ) - SantolSantol (fruit)The santol is a tropical fruit grown in Southeast Asia.-Origin and distribution:The santol is believed native to former Indochina and Peninsular Malaysia, and to have been introduced into India, Borneo, Indonesia, the Moluccas, Mauritius, and the Philippines where it has become naturalized...
, while still hard and unripe - CucumberCucumberThe cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
, usually the small variety - BananaBananaBanana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
, while still green and unripe - Banana flower . Somtam Hua Plii
- MangoMangoThe mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
, while still green and unripe
Additional ingredients
To the basic ingredient some or most of the following secondary items are added and pounded in the mortar with the pestle:- ChiliChili pepperChili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
(Thai: พริก pʰrík; Isan: พิก pʰík; Lao: ພິກ pʰík) - SugarSugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
(traditionally palm sugarPalm sugarPalm sugar was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm, the date palm or sugar date palm . Now it is also made from the sap of the sago, arenga pinnata and coconut palms, and may be sold as "arenga sugar" or "coconut sugar".-Description:It is quickly gaining popularity in the...
) - GarlicGarlicAllium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
(Thai: กระเทียม kra.tʰiəm; Isan: กะเทียม ka.tʰiəm; Lao: ພະກເທິຍມ paktʰiːəm) - LimeLime (fruit)Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
(Thai/Isan: มะนาว manaːw; Lao: ມະນາວ) - Fish sauceFish sauceFish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to ferment. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in numerous cultures in Southeast Asia and the coastal regions of East Asia, and features heavily in Thai and Vietnamese...
(Thai: น้ำปลา nám plaː; Lao: ນ້ຳປາ nám paː) - Brined Crabs (Thai: ปูเค็ม puː kʰem; Isan: ปูดอง puː dɔːŋ; Lao: ປູດອງ puː dɔːŋ). These are not marine crabs, but local salted black crabsParathelphusidaeParathelphusidae is a family of freshwater crabs mainly in Southeast Asia. Their closest living relatives are the Gecarcinucidae.The Parathelphusidae inhabit rivers, lakes and rice paddies. Some species, for example from the genus Somanniathelphusa, are locally important as food, particularly in...
( ricefield crab) found in the flooded ricefields and canals. Isaan people eat the entire crab, including the shell. - Shrimp PasteShrimp pasteShrimp paste or shrimp sauce, is a common ingredient used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisine. It is known as terasi in Indonesian, ngapi in Burmese, kapi in Thai, Khmer and Lao language, belacan in Malay, mắm ruốc, mắm tép and mắm tôm in...
(Thai/Isan: กะปิ kapìʔ; Lao: ກະປີ) - Pla raPla raPla ra is fermented fish sauce, popular in Northeastern Thai cuisine.It is made by pickling several varieties of fish, mainly Snakehead Murrel . The fish is cleaned and cut into pieces, after which it is mixed with salt and rice bran...
(Thai: ปลาร้า plaː ráː; Isan: ปาแดก paː dɛ̀ːk; Lao: ປາແດກPadaekPadaek, sometimes Padek, Lao bagoong, is a traditional Laotian condiment made from pickled or fermented fish that has been cured. Often known as Laotian fish sauce, it is a thicker, seasoned fish sauce that often contains chunks of fish in it...
) - Tomatoes (Thai: มะเขือเทศ máʔ.kʰɯ̌ə tʰêːt; Isan: หมากเลน màːk leːn; Lao: ໝາກເລ່ນ); Isan people also refer to tomatoes as มะเขอเคอ (makʰɤ̌ːkʰɤː), usually a quite small variety.
- Hog PlumsSpondias mombinSpondias mombin is a tree, a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas, including the West Indies. The tree has been naturalized in parts of Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It is rarely cultivated.The mature fruit has a leathery skin and a...
(่Thai/Isan: มะกอก makɔ̀ːk; Lao: ມະກອກ) - Raw eggplant , the small Thai variety.
Som tam is often served with sticky rice (Thai/Isan: ข้าวเหนียว kʰâːw nǐow; Lao: ເຂົ້າໜຽວ) and kai yang (Thai: ไก่ย่าง kàj jâːŋ; Isan: ไก่ย่าง kàj ɲâːŋ; Lao: ປິງໄກ່ piŋ ɡaj). It is also sometimes served over rice noodles
Rice noodles
Rice noodles are noodles that are made from rice. Their principal ingredients are rice flour and water. However, sometimes other ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are also added in order to improve the transparency or increase the gelatinous and chewy texture of the noodles.Rice noodles...
and raw vegetables to mitigate the spiciness of the dish, or simply as a snack by itself with crispy pork rinds.
Variations
Variations of the dish are found throughout Thailand, as well as in the West, where it is more commonly known by its Thai version and Thai name. A similar dish is also eaten in Cambodia, where it is known as bok l'hongBok l'hong
Bok l'hong is the Khmer version of a dish popularly known in English as papaya salad. The word l'hong means papaya in Khmer. The word bok refers to the ingredients being beaten with a mortar and pestle.Despite the use of papaya, which one may think of as sweet, this salad is actually savoury...
.
The Central Thai version (som tam Thai) tends to be mild in comparison and much sweeter; it often contains crushed peanuts, and is less likely to have padaek or brined crab. These last are eaten raw, and the Thai government periodically issues health warnings about the risk of hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
. Dried brine shrimp
Brine shrimp
Artemia is a genus of aquatic crustaceans known as brine shrimp. Artemia, the only genus in the family Artemiidae, has changed little externally since the Triassic period...
are used in this Central Thai version, commonly referred to as ส้มตำรามา or som tam rama. There are also versions made using unripe mangoes, apples, cucumbers, carrots, and other firm vegetables or unripe fruit. Most of these were invented by Thai students in the United States or United Kingdom, where unripe papaya are hard to find.
Further reading
- Cummings, Joe. (2000). World Food: Thailand. UK: Lonely Planet Publishers. pp. 157–8. ISBN 1864500263
- Williams, China ‘’et al.’’. . ‘’Southeast Asia on a Shoestring: Big Trips on Small Budgets.’’ Lonely Planet. p. 31. ISBN 1741041643
- Brissenden, Rosemary. (2007). Southeast Asian food: Classic and Modern Dishes from Indonesia, Malaysia, .. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 434 – 439. ISBN 0794604889
- McDermoot, Nancie. (1992). Real Thai: The Best of Thailand’s Regional Cooking. Chronicle Books. pp. 121 – 146. ISBN 0811800172