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Vegan Green Papaya Salad {Som Tum}

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Modified: Jun 23, 2023 ยท Published: Aug 16, 2020 by Jamie Raftery ยท This post may contain affiliate links ยท 3 Comments
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Healthy Vegan Thai Green Papaya Salad. A delicious, fresh, raw, Thai Som Tum. It takes just 10 minutes to make this beautiful salad. Enjoy all the flavors of Thailand in this bowlful of goodness.

thai-som-tum-salad
Thai Vegan Green Papaya Salad

History of Som Tam

Som Tum is a form of spicy Thai salad that is associated with coming from the Isaan province in North-East Thailand... These days you will find it all over Thailand and it is a comfort dish for many Thais.

Papaya salad is not only a signature dish in Thailand but also a popular one in Cambodia and Vietnam, though the Thai version is certainly the most famous. Food historians believe the dish originated in Thailand's northeast neighbor of Laos, which might be why green papaya salad is one of the most popular dishes in Isaan, the northeastern region of the country. As the largest region in Thailand, many of the most remarkable dishes commenced their journey into the foodie scene from this rarely visited area.

Ingredients you will need for Thai green papaya salad

  • Green papaya
  • Carrots
  • Green beans
  • Cherry tomato
  • Red chili
  • Garlic
  • Palm sugar
  • Lime
  • Soy sauce
  • Roasted peanuts

Kitchen equipment and tools you will need

  • Chopping board
  • Chefs knife
  • Peeler
  • Thai vegetable peeler
  • Mixing bowl OR Thai mortar and pestle

What to serve with

Traditionally Green Papaya Salad is served with sticky rice, here is a link to a recipe if you would like to try it.

Ingredient variations for Som Tum

Try changing up the vegetables, in Thailand hundreds of variations of this salad are available. There are shops and restaurants dedicated solely to making Som Tum! 

If you cannot source green papaya, you can try using some of the following vegetables:

  • Turnip
  • Daikon
  • Radish
  • Parsnip
  • Celeriac
  • Kohlrabi
  • Cabbage
  • Cucumber
thai-green-papaya-salad

Different types of Green Papaya Salad in Thailand

Som Tum Thai

This classic version made from grated papaya is the one you will find in most restaurants - especially ones overseas or catering to a Western audience. Often grated carrot will be added in addition to the papaya. You can make it as spicy as you want.

Green Mango - Som Tum Mamuang

Instead of papaya, this is made with slightly sour and hard green mango.

Mixed Fruit - Som Tum Polamai

You can use a variety of fresh fruits including apples, grapes, guava, and pineapple. In this version, the fruit is usually chopped into small chunks rather than grated.

Cucumber - Tum Teng

Using cucumber makes this a version you can easily make anywhere in the world. You can cut the cucumber think or cut it into batons/

Guava - Som Tum Farang

Use Guava instead of papaya. You can grate the guava or cut it into small chucks.

Woon Sen (Glass Noodles)

Use a normal som tum sauce but mixed with glass noodles, carrots and papaya.

Sen Chan (Pad Thai Noodles)

Use a normal som tum sauce but mixed with Sen Chan noodles and morning glory

Kanom Jeen (Fermented rice noodles)

Use a normal som tum sauce but mixed with kanom jeen and cucumber. Best extra spicy!

Lotus or Lily Stems

Lotus stems are readily available in Thailand, these make a lovely som tum variation

Som Tum Pu Pla Ra

Isaan version of som tum. Traditionally crab and anchovy are added, but I have sourced a Vegan Pla Ra

Tum Suo (with vermicelli noodles)

This is a noodle-based version

Som Tum Khao Pod - Use sweetcorn

This is a simple version that can be made anywhere in the world as sweetcorn is readily available in most places.

Som Tum Pa (Jungle)

This translates to "jungle" pounded and it includes a random mixture of all sorts of pungent ingredients including khanom jeen noodles, water mimosa, and mixed vegetables.

Nutritional benefits of green papaya salad

Green papaya is really a nutritional fruit, it's power-packed with essential nutrients that will help in digestive health and blood purification. Learn more about the health benefits of green papaya here.

traditional-green-papaya-salad
Classic Thai Som Tum

Some more Thai Recipes to try

  • Tom Yum Mushroom Soup
  • Green Curry
  • Red Curry
  • Kanom Jeen Noodles
  • Pomelo Salad
  • Pad See Ew Noodles

Discover my top 9 Thai vegan recipes

  • My Top 9 Vegan Thai Recipes

๐Ÿ“‹ Recipe

thai-som-tum-salad
Jamie Raftery

Green Papaya Salad - Thai Vegan 'Som Tum'

5 from 1 vote
A vegan version of the classic Thai Som Tum
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Add to CollectionGo to Collections
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 10 minutes mins
Servings: 4 people
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Thai
Calories: 186
Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g Green Papaya
  • 100 g Carrots
  • 100 g Green beans
  • 100 g Tomato - cherry
  • 4 each Red chili - Thai
  • 4 each Garlic cloves
  • 4 each Lime to taste
  • 20 g Palm sugar to taste
  • 20 g Soy sauce to taste
  • 20 g Tamarind paste optional
  • 60 g Peanuts

Equipment

  • Chopping board
  • Chefs knife
  • Thai vegetable peeler
  • Peeler
  • Mixing bowl
  • Serving bowl
  • Spoon
  • Mortar and Pestle

Method
 

  1. Assemble all the ingredients
  2. Peel papaya and carrot
  3. Julienne papaya and carrot.
    Slice green beans, cut cherry tomato in half.
  4. Add garlic and chili to mixing bowl - crush together.
  5. Add palm sugar, lime juice, tamarind paste and soy sauce to the mixing bowl and mix together well.
  6. Add the green beans, green papaya and carrot - mix well.
  7. Check the seasoning and adjust sweetness, sourness, saltiness or spicyness as you like.

Nutrition

Calories: 186kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 6gFat: 8gSodium: 385mgPotassium: 528mgFiber: 5gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 5421IUVitamin C: 73mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1mg

Notes

Recipe variations:
  • If you cannot source green papaya, you can use turnip, radish or carrots.
  • Try adding pineapple, apple, sweetcorn or tomato for recipe variations.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!

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Comments

  1. Erik Raftery says

    August 16, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    Looking forward crafting this dish at home.
    Looks awesome,
    Thanks for sharing โ˜บ๏ธ

    Reply
  2. Steven Shonts says

    October 15, 2024 at 4:08 pm

    Vegan Pla Ra?? Please do share the brand!

    Reply
    • Jamie Raftery says

      October 16, 2024 at 1:57 am

      Hi Steven, here is the link to buy in Thailand

      Reply
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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Hi, weโ€™re Thara & Jamie

Weโ€™re a Thaiโ€™rish chef duo based between our jungle kitchen studio in Phuket, Thailand, and a new culinary studio and permaculture farm weโ€™re developing in Galway, Ireland.

Together, we run the Holistic Chef Academy - a space for exploring healthy, wholesome, plant-based cuisine.

With our roots in Michelin-star kitchens and a shared passion for food as medicine - we create recipes, courses, and experiences that aim to educate, inspire, and empower.

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