History

Som tam migrated to Bangkok with Isan northeastern Thai labour migration in the mid-20th century and became the canonical Bangkok lunch dish by the 1980s. Som Tam Jay So in Sathorn was Michelin-listed with a Bib Gourmand in 2018, pounding to order in clay mortars from a sai-mok northeastern recipe lineage. Variants now include som tam Thai (Bangkok sweeter style), som tam pu pla ra (with fermented crab and fish sauce), and som tam Lao (with raw aubergine, less sugar, more pungent).

Common allergens: Fish sauce, Peanut, Shellfish (dried shrimp)

Make it at home

Yield Serves 2Hands-on 15 minTotal 15 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 300g green papaya, peeled and shredded thin (julienne)
  • 100g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 50g long beans, cut in 3cm pieces
  • 4 Thai bird's-eye chillies (adjust to heat)
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1.5 tbsp palm sugar
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp dried shrimp
  • 30g unsalted roasted peanuts

Method

  1. In a clay mortar or large pestle bowl, pound the garlic and chillies into a rough paste.
  2. Add palm sugar; pound until dissolved. Add fish sauce and lime juice; pound to mix.
  3. Add the dried shrimp and peanuts; pound briefly to crack.
  4. Add long beans; bash 4 or 5 times to bruise.
  5. Add papaya and tomatoes. Pound and toss alternately (using a spoon to lift the bottom) for 90 seconds to bruise the papaya into the dressing.
  6. Taste; adjust fish sauce, lime and palm sugar. Serve immediately with sticky rice and grilled chicken.

Tip from the editors. The papaya should be unripe and crunchy, not soft. If you cannot find green papaya, shredded carrot is the second-best substitute.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat som tam

Som Tam in Bangkok

Som Tam Jay So ★ 4.5

Isan papaya salad$silom-sathorn

Som Tam Jay So in Bangkok's Sathorn is the Bib Gourmand papaya-salad room from a sai-mok northeastern Thai recipe lineage. Pounded fresh to order in clay mortars.

Signature: Som tam Thai, Som tam pu pla ra, Grilled chicken

Order: Som tam Thai with grilled chicken and a basket of sticky rice; ask for medium spice.

Tip: Cash and PromptPay only. Lunch and early dinner 10:30 to 19:30; closed Sundays.

402/16 Soi Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra 3, Yan Nawa, Sathon, Bangkok 10120

Soi Polo Fried Chicken ★ 4.5

Until 21:00Cash only

Polo Fried Chicken in Bangkok's Soi Polo is the Bib Gourmand garlic-fried-chicken room, open until 21:00 daily with half birds blanketed in crispy fried garlic since 1989.

Try: Garlic fried chicken (gai tod)

Tip: Cash only. Last orders 20:30. Half a fried chicken with som tam Thai and sticky rice is the canonical late-dinner order.

137/1-3 Soi Polo, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330

Or Tor Kor Market food stalls ★ 4.5

Or Tor Kor in Bangkok's Chatuchak is the cleanest food court in the city with curry plates and som tam stalls under 200 baht, the Bib Gourmand som tam pla ra is a 90-baht plate.

Try: Som tam, grilled chicken, curry plates

Tip: The som tam pla ra stall in the back corner is the canonical order; the durian and mangosteen vendors are seasonal.

101 Kamphaeng Phet Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900

More cities are in research. Want som tam covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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