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Health Freaks Will Love This Thai Green Papaya Salad Recipe

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Thai green papaya salad, or som tam, is a staple in Thai cuisine with centuries-old origins in northeastern Thailand. This dish is celebrated globally for its unique blend of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty flavors. It offers a refreshing experience any time of the year. Let's start cooking and bring a taste of Thailand to your kitchen.

Gather the following ingredients

For this vegetarian and eggless Thai green papaya salad, gather one medium green papaya (peeled, shredded), two carrots (peeled, shredded), 10 cherry tomatoes (halved), two tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts, two minced garlic cloves, two thinly sliced red chilies, one tablespoon soy sauce, one-and-a-half tablespoons lime juice, one tablespoon palm or brown sugar, and two tablespoons tamarind juice.

Preparing the dressing

Begin by creating the dressing. In a mortar and pestle or bowl, mix minced garlic, sliced red chilies (to taste), palm or brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, and tamarind juice. Pound or whisk until the sugar fully dissolves and ingredients blend well. Aim for a perfect balance of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty in the dressing.

Mixing the salad

In a large mixing bowl, add shredded green papaya and carrots. Toss well to mix evenly. Then, introduce halved cherry tomatoes, adding color and flavor. Drizzle the prepared dressing over the vegetables, ensuring they are evenly coated with its vibrant taste. This step is key for blending the ingredients together effectively, creating a harmonious mixture ready for the final touches.

Final touches

Mix the salad gently with your hands or utensils, ensuring an even coating of dressing on each piece. This is crucial for uniform flavor. Perform a taste test to see if additional seasoning is needed. This step allows for adjustments to ensure every bite has the perfect balance of the salad's signature sweet, sour, spicy and salty flavors.

Serving suggestions

Once satisfied with the salad's taste, carefully place it onto serving plates or bowls. Then, sprinkle crushed roasted peanuts over the top for an added crunchy texture. This dish is best enjoyed immediately to fully appreciate its freshness and vibrant flavors. However, it can be refrigerated for a short period if necessary, although fresh serving is recommended for the best experience.

Quick And Easy Thai Green Papaya Salad (som Tam)

The Thai dish of som tam, or green papaya salad, is wonderfully refreshing. In restaurants, it's served as the cook makes it. But Thailand's street stalls and specialist som tam shops will tailor the dish to each customer's taste, with additions such as shredded carrot, dried shrimp and small salted crabs (so tiny most of the shells are edible), and they'll also ask how spicy you want it. Take the same attitude when you make it yourself and add seasonings to suit your taste.

In Thailand, som tam is usually accompanied with steamed sticky rice as a neutral backdrop to the strongly flavoured salad. It's also good with boiled rice noodles, and it can be made into a heartier meal by adding boiled salted egg or cooked prawns, or by serving it as a side dish to Thai grilled chicken with nam jim jaew dipping sauce.

Som tam should be made with a mortar and pestle. With this old-fashioned but useful implement, lightly crush (not to a pulp) some of the ingredients, such as the garlic and chillies, and gently bruise the others.

Green papaya is the fruit that's been picked before it's ripe, so it has a tart flavour and crunchy texture. Thai grocery stores sell green papaya either whole - in which case you need to peel and shred it - or pre-shredded. The latter is convenient, but use it within a few days and store it in the fridge, or it becomes mushy.

The following quantities are enough for one person; simply double the ingredients if you are serving two. Unless your mortar is very large, though, you shouldn't increase the amounts by too much.

Fruit Of The Month: Papaya!

Carica papaya is the scientific name of the orange and green fruit known more commonly as papaya. It tastes sweet and has a soft texture that many find appealing. The seeds are also edible, although they're more bitter than the fruit itself.

Papayas have several health benefits. They're rich in antioxidants and contain lots of fiber. (Photo credit: iStock / Getty Images)

Papayas grow best in a tropical region where there is plentiful rainfall but little long-term flooding. Freezing temperatures may damage a papaya crop.

Papayas are originally from Central America. Indigenous people in that area ate papayas and used them for medicinal purposes. In the 1500s and 1600s, Spanish and Portuguese colonizers brought the seeds to other tropical areas of the globe, including the Philippines and India.

Today, Hawaii, the Philippines, India, Ceylon, Australia, and tropical regions in Africa are the top papaya-producing regions. Smaller papaya-farming operations still exist in Central and South America.

Papaya has many different names all over the globe. In Australia, it's called a pawpaw. In southern Asia, it's sometimes called a kepaya, lapaya, or tapaya. Its name in French is sometimes "figueir des iles," or fig of the islands. Some Spanish names for papaya include "melon zapote," "fruta bomba," or "mamona."

Papaya varieties 

You may encounter many varieties of papaya in a market, including:

Kapaho solo (also known as puna solo)

Waimanolo

Higgins

Wilder

Hortus gold

Honey gold

Bettina

Improved Peterson

Sunnybank

Guinea gold

Coorg honeydew

Washington

Protection against heart disease

Papayas contain high levels of antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Diets high in antioxidants may reduce the risk of heart disease. The antioxidants prevent the oxidation of cholesterol. When cholesterol oxidizes, it's more likely to create blockages that lead to heart disease. 

Additionally, papaya's high fiber content may reduce the risk of heart disease. High-fiber diets lower cholesterol levels.

Other papaya benefits include folic acid, which is needed to convert the amino acid homocysteine into less harmful amino acids. (Amino acids are molecules that help make up proteins.) High levels of homocysteine, an amino acid mostly found in meat products, are a risk factor for heart disease. Eating papaya may lower homocysteine levels, reducing this risk factor.

Digestion and reduced inflammation

Papayas contain two enzymes, papain and chymopapain. Both enzymes digest proteins, meaning they can help with digestion and reduce inflammation. Papain is an ingredient in some over-the-counter supplements to help with minor upset stomach.

Both papain and chymopapain also help reduce inflammation. They may help ease acute pain, like that from burns or bruises, and might help with chronic inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and asthma.

Immune system

Eating foods high in vitamin C can help boost your immune system, allowing the body to fight off bacterial and viral illnesses. Papaya has a good amount of this antioxidant.

Papaya is also a good source of vitamin A, which is important for a healthy and functional immune system. 

Potentially protects against prostate cancer

Lycopene is a natural pigment found in red and orange foods. Tomatoes, watermelon, and papaya are good sources of lycopene. Some experts believe that eating more lycopene reduces the risk of prostate cancer, but some research has been inconclusive.

However, in other studies, eating a diet high in lycopene along with green tea was found to reduce the risk of prostate cancer significantly.

Papaya seed benefits

Papaya seeds have traditionally been used as a natural remedy to combat intestinal parasites. Some studies suggest that compounds in papaya seeds may have antiparasitic effects, helping eliminate harmful organisms from the digestive tract.

Some research also suggests that papaya seeds may have a protective effect on the liver. Certain compounds in the seeds, such as flavonoids and phenolic acids, might support liver health and function.

Papaya seeds contain bioactive compounds that may have anti-inflammatory properties. These compounds may help reduce inflammation in the body and provide relief from inflammatory conditions.

Papaya enzyme benefits

Papaya enzymes, particularly papain, are known for their digestive properties. They help break down dietary proteins in the stomach. This can lead to reduced bloating, gas, and indigestion.

Applying creams or ointments that contain papaya enzyme is believed to promote wound healing. The enzymes may help remove dead or damaged tissue, aiding in the healing process.

Some skincare products contain papaya enzymes due to their exfoliating properties. Papain helps remove dead skin cells, leaving the skin smoother and more radiant.

A medium-sized papaya contains more than 200% of the vitamin C you need per day. This vitamin helps reduce the risk of heart disease and boosts the immune system. Papayas are also a good source of:

Folate

Vitamin A

Fiber

Copper

Magnesium

Potassium

Pantothenic acid

Nutrients per serving

A medium-sized papaya (approximately 275 grams) contains about:

119 calories

1.3 grams of protein

30 grams of carbohydrates

Less than 1 gram of fat

4.7 grams of dietary fiber

21.58 grams of sugar

Things to watch out for

Papaya is generally safe to consume, but some people may have allergic reactions. Papaya has natural sugars, so if you need to limit them for any reason, eat an amount that aligns with your health needs. 

How to pick a good papaya

When choosing a papaya, consider when and how you want to eat it. Green papayas are not ripe yet and will not have the characteristic flavor or texture. But unripe papayas are used in some cooked dishes or in certain styles of salads. Papayas with red and orange skin are riper. You want it to be slightly soft to the touch, but not overly soft. 

If you buy unripe papayas and want them to ripen before you eat them, store them at room temperature until ripe.

Once you're ready to eat the papaya, simply cut it open, scoop out the seeds, and eat the orange interior. The skin and seeds are not poisonous, but most people don't eat them.

Many recipes include papaya, such as:

Papaya salsa

Papaya jam

Papaya smoothies

Papaya relish

Fruit bowls with papaya

Papaya salads

Papaya salad

Ingredients:

1 small green papaya (peeled, seeds removed, and shredded)

2-3 cloves garlic (minced)

2-3 Thai bird's eye chilies (adjust to your spice preference, minced)

1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)

1/4 cup roasted peanuts (coarsely chopped)

2 tablespoons dried shrimp (optional, for added umami flavor)

1-2 tablespoons fish sauce (adjust to taste)

1-2 tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar (adjust to taste)

Lime wedges (for serving)

Instructions:

Prepare the dressing:

In a mortar and pestle, pound the minced garlic and Thai bird's eye chilies together to release their flavors. Or, you can mince them finely with a knife.

Make the dressing:

In a small bowl, combine the pounded garlic and chilies with fish sauce and palm sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Adjust the quantities to achieve a balanced flavor profile, combining salty, sweet, sour, and spicy elements.

Shred the papaya:

Peel the green papaya using a vegetable peeler. Cut it in half and remove the seeds. Grate the papaya using a box grater or a julienne peeler. Place the shredded papaya in a mixing bowl.

Assemble the salad:

Add the halved cherry tomatoes, chopped roasted peanuts, and dried shrimp (if using) to the shredded papaya.

Add the dressing:

Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients. Use salad tongs or clean hands to gently toss and mix everything together, making sure the dressing coats the ingredients evenly.

Adjust flavors:

Taste the salad and adjust the flavors as needed. You can add more fish sauce, sugar, or lime juice to achieve the desired balance of flavors.

Serve:

Transfer the papaya salad to a serving plate. Garnish with additional chopped peanuts. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

Papaya smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup ripe papaya (peeled, seeds removed, and cubed)

1 banana (ripe and peeled)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt or your preferred yogurt (plain or vanilla)

1/2 cup milk (dairy or plant-based)

1 tablespoon honey or sweetener of choice (optional, adjust to taste)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Ice cubes (as needed)

Instructions:

Prepare the papaya:

Peel the papaya, cut it in half, and scoop out the seeds. Cut the papaya into cubes.

Blend the ingredients:

Place the papaya cubes, banana, Greek yogurt, milk, honey (if using), and vanilla extract (if using) in a blender.

Blend until smooth:

Blend the ingredients on high speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a little more milk to get it to the right consistency.

Taste and adjust:

Taste the smoothie and adjust the sweetness with more honey if needed. You can also adjust the thickness by adding more milk or ice cubes.

Serve:

Pour the papaya smoothie into glasses. You can add a few ice cubes to keep it chilled. You can also garnish with additional papaya slices or a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Papayas are a sweet fruit and grow in tropical regions. They have many varieties. Papaya has many benefits, including protection against heart disease, reduced inflammation, aid in digestion, and boosting your immune system. There are also benefits to eating papaya seeds. You can enjoy papayas in many ways, such as in smoothies and salads.

Is it good to eat papaya every day?

Papayas are generally safe to eat unless you have an allergy or are avoiding sugars. However, it's best to eat any food in moderation.

When should you eat a papaya?

Papayas with red and orange skin are riper. You want it to be slightly soft to the touch, but not overly soft.

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