Som Tam Recipe

Som tam is a spicy, Thai-style raw papaya salad which actually didn’t originate in Thailand. Food historians believe that the dish originated in Laos, which borders Isaan, Thailand’s northeastern region. Papaya and chilli have been an important part of Laotian food since the 1800s. However, the papaya salad served in Laos uses fermented fish paste and green aubergine. Som tam was called ‘tum bak hoong’ in the Laos-Isaan dialect. ‘Bak hoong’ means ‘papaya’ and ‘tam’ translates to ‘pounded’. It’s no surprise that the dish was called ‘pounded papaya’ since it involves heavy use of a mortar and pestle. The name of the salad changed because of mass migration to Bangkok from Isaan. Migrant workers told each other about the papaya salad they ate in their younger days and both the recipe and the name changed to som tam, which translates to ‘pounded sour’.