Thai Green Papaya Salad Recipe
This vibrant Thai Green Papaya Salad blends the crunch of shredded green papaya with spicy bird eye chillies, tangy lime juice, and the savory depth of fish sauce and dried shrimp. Enhanced with toasted peanuts, fresh snake beans, grape tomatoes, and aromatic Thai basil, this salad offers a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavors. It’s a refreshing and healthy dish ideal as a light meal or a flavorful side.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients
Scale
Salad Ingredients
- 500g / 4 cups green papaya, shredded, tightly packed (~1 medium, 2/3 large)
- 20 snake beans, cut into 5cm (2″) pieces (raw)
- 3 cups grape tomatoes, halved (~400g / 14oz)
- 1 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
- 1/2 cup Thai basil leaves
Dressing Ingredients
- 2 tbsp garlic, roughly chopped (10 normal or 4 large cloves)
- 6 bird eye chillies, roughly chopped with seeds (adjust quantity for spice preference)
- 6 tbsp dried shrimp
- 1 cup palm sugar, grated and loosely packed
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup fish sauce
Instructions
- Crush Peanuts: Place the peanuts into a mortar and pestle and lightly pound them to break them into large pieces, avoiding grinding into powder. Transfer the crushed peanuts to a bowl and set aside.
- Prepare Garlic and Chili Paste: Using the mortar, pound the roughly chopped garlic and bird eye chillies into a coarse paste. Add the dried shrimp and continue pounding to crush them slightly, without turning into a paste.
- Make the Dressing: To the mortar, stir in the grated palm sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce, mixing until the palm sugar fully dissolves. Pour this dressing mixture into a large bowl.
- Braise Snake Beans: Add the snake beans into the mortar in batches and pound them to bruise, split, and soften, as they are raw. Then add the bruised beans to the dressing in the bowl.
- Crush Tomatoes: Grab handfuls of halved grape tomatoes and crush them gently with your hands before adding them into the bowl with the dressing and beans.
- Add Papaya and Peanuts: Add the shredded green papaya and 3/4 of the crushed peanuts into the bowl. Toss the ingredients well together using two wooden spoons or tongs to evenly coat with the dressing.
- Serve Immediately: Once the salad is well coated with the dressing, quickly pile it up onto plates. Spoon some of the remaining dressing over each serving, garnish with Thai basil leaves, and sprinkle the remaining peanuts on top. Serve immediately for optimal freshness and texture.
Notes
- Adjust the number of bird eye chillies based on your preferred spice level.
- Dried shrimp adds authentic umami; if unavailable, you can omit or substitute with dried anchovies.
- Use palm sugar for traditional sweetness, but brown sugar can be a substitute if needed.
- Fresh snake beans add a unique crunch and texture; if unavailable, green beans can be used but texture will differ.
- Make sure to shred the green papaya finely and pack tightly to replicate authentic texture and volume.
- Thai basil adds aromatic freshness; if unavailable, regular basil can be used but flavor will differ.
- This salad is best served immediately after preparation to preserve crunch and vibrant flavors; it does not store well.
Keywords: Thai green papaya salad, Som Tum, Thai salad, green papaya recipe, fresh papaya salad, spicy Thai salad, authentic Thai food
Find it online: https://nataliereeve.com/thai-green-papaya-salad-recipe/
