How to Make Som Tam Thai

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 mins + 30 mins (inactive)

Cooking time: –

Ingredients needed to make Som Tam Thai:

• 1 green papaya, peeled, ends trimmed, deseeded and julienned
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 ½ cups loosely packed Thai basil, roughly chopped
• 2 Thai chillies, stemmed, deseeded and finely chopped
• 4 oz Asian-style beef jerky, shredded roughly
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
• 1 ½ tsp salt

Cooking instructions for Som Tam Thai:

• Pour the fish sauce and fresh lime juice into a small bowl and whisk in 2 tbsp sugar, garlic and chilies until well combined and the sugar is dissolved; set aside until required.
• Place the papaya juliennes in a colander and sprinkle rest of the sugar and a dash of salt.
• Toss them all together to coat the papaya well with the seasonings and set aside for about half an hour or until the veggie releases most of the moisture within it and appears pliant.
• Wash it under running cold water and drain it out while squeezing it firmly to get rid of any excess water.
• Place the papaya juliennes on a kitchen towel and dab them dry.
• Transfer them into a large mixing bowl and give it a nice shake to separate the juliennes from each other.
• Throw in the chopped thai basil and drizzle the dressing all over it.
• Toss them thoroughly until the basil leaves are distributed evenly throughout the mixture and all the ingredients are coated well with the dressing.
• Scatter the shredded beef jerky in top and serve right away.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons