The Som Tum, or green papaya salad is a dish with spices and very spicy in salad format. It is served cold, and we can find it especially in the northwestern region of Thailand, in the Isaan region.
It is a very spicy dish, which as main ingredients has green papaya, tomato, garlic, chili, fish sauce, chicken or seafood. Multiple spices and condiments, such as tamarind pulp or dried shrimp pasta.
It has hundreds of variations, so we better explore for ourselves the different recipes that we can find. It comes from Laos and the Isaan region.
The name som tam comes from the isaan dialect: som means "sour" and tam means "to hit"
Another name by which it is known is: papaya pok pok, because of the noise that occurs with the mortar when it is prepared.
This dish is sweet, salty and sour and of course... very spicy.
Thai culture has spicy food as a hallmark.
If you are a foreigner and do not usually eat very spicy, I advise you to order it with a single chili or a half, lest you not even try the salad.
English (UK) 
Español