Somtam Outside the Box

This will come as no surprise to you if you live or have travelled a bit in Thailand but somtam -- probably the mostly widely known Thai dish -- doesn't mean "green papaya salad". This 'salad' is less about ingredients and flavor profile (which vary Isaan to northern Thailand to central Thailand) than about a style of preparation: mixing a 'dressing' of sorts in a mortar and then 'pounding' vegetables and/or fruit into it with the pestle.

Our favorite somtam guy here in Chiang Mai (more on him later) lists 6 or 7 styles/types of somtam on his street cart menu -- three or four made with green papaya, one made with cucumber, another with green mango.

Elsewhere, there's carrot somtam and long bean somtam. There's fruit somtam, which I wrote about several years ago (it's fabulous -- give the recipe a try, here). And now, something I've been seeing more and more around Chiang Mai: corn somtam.

We first tried this tasty Thai way with corn last year at a shop near Chiang Mai's flower and plants nursery area. Since arriving in town over a week ago we've seen at least 3 or 4 mobile vendors selling the stuff, often in combination with grilled chicken. Corn somtam is made with cooked corn kernels and isn't as 'pounded' as the green papaya/mango versions -- exploded kernels do not a tasty corn salad make.

The thing about somtam -- it's so much easier to make than you probably think, and quick to make too, if you're using a main ingredient other than grated or cut papaya or mango. Yes, ideally it's done with a mortar and pestle, but it doesn't have to be. It's the perfect accompaniment to a heavier Thai dish or grilled chicken or pork. Here, it's often eaten on its own, maybe with sticky rice or kanom jeen (fermented rice vermicelli), as a late morning or mid-afternoon snack.

The best part -- it's entirely customizable. If you like it spicy, add more chilies. If you don't have fresh chilies, use dried. Fish sauce or bplaa raa ('super fermented' fish) or another fishy element -- pickled crab in Isaan, sometimes gapi (shrimp past) -- is essential, but lime juice actually isn't (northern Thai-style som tam is spicy and salty, but not lime-y). Soft Thai palm sugar is best, but if brown sugar is all you've got, go for it.

Think of somtam as you would any other salad -- simply a matter of mixing a 'dressing' to taste and throwing in what you like.

Corn Somtam

I'm not specifying ingredient amounts here because somtam is a personal thing. When I order somtam Tai (with lime juice, fish sauce, and dried shrimp rather than pickled crab or bplaa raa) I specify 'phet priaow' -- spicy and sour. But maybe you like yours sweet, or not so 'phet'.

You might start with 1 Tbsp fish sauce, 1 Tbsp lime juice, and 1 Tbsp sugar. Then taste and adjust to your own palate. Chilies are necessary for this somtam lover, but if you can't stand the heat leave them out; the same goes for garlic. Add dried shrimp if you like, just a tablespoon full or so. Unless you've got primo quality, relatively freshly dried shrimp, soak them in warm water first and rinse to get the salt off. To make your somtam, use a mortar and pestle -- or a bowl and a couple of spoons, plus the side of a knife for smashing some of the ingredients.

And play around with other ingredients such as cucumber (cut into thick matchsticks or wide ribbons), carrots, French beans, jicama etc. If you like, toss in a few cooked fresh shrimp at the end.

I clove garlic (if you like) ... or 2 or 3

chilies - fresh or dried

Palm sugar or brown sugar

Fish sauce

Lime juice

1 Tbsp dried shrimp (optional) -- soaked in warm water, rinsed and patted dry if not top quality

2 cups cooked corn (barely cooked -- don't use mushy kernels)

a few cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

grated carrot, if you like

a long bean or three, if you like

In a mortar, smash the garlic and chilies a couple times to release their juices (if you're using dried chilies you might cut them in half and then bash them a bit before throwing the garlic in). You don't want a pulpy paste here -- they should retain some shape. If you're not using a mortar, smash the garlic and chilies with side of a knife and throw them in a bowl.

Add fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar -- maybe equal parts to start. Mix it all up, then taste. Add more fish sauce, or lime juice, or sugar, or all three. Remember that the dressing will be diluted by juices from the veggies so make it on the strong-tasting side.

Toss in the shrimp if you're using them, and pound lightly. (Or smush them with the side of a knife and toss them into your salad bowl.) If you're using a mortar, add the tomatoes and bash lightly. No mortar? Squeeze the tomatoes lightly over the bowl the smush them a bit. Throw in the carrots and long beans (cut in 1-inch pieces) and lightly bash them in the dressing. If no mortar, smash the long beans with the side of a knife and throw them in with the carrots, then stir all in the dressing.

Add the corn and mix well. Ever so lightly tap the kernels with your pestle --- or press down lightly on some of the kernels with the spoon you're using to mix.

Serve with rice, or not (this makes a great, light-on-fat lunch).

 

Comments

[Nate @ House of Annie]

I love som tam! This sounds great. The next time we get some fresh corn on the cob, we'll try this recipe. I suppose canned corn is out of the question?

[Albert]

do people add lemon grass in these salads?

[heguiberto]

somtam is delicious. I haven't cooked Thai food in a while now. This corn version looks fabulous. I love the flavors here, sweet, salty, tangy, that green flavor the long beans lend to the dish along with the ocean flavor imparted by the fish sauce ....mouthwatering :)

[Teri Y]

I've only had somtam with green papaya and long beans. Thanks for opening up my somtam horizons! Now I've got to try it with fruit and corn.

[Bernadette]

I remember when we first moved to Canada we didn't know where to get papaya or long beans. We had a green apple tree and my Mom experimented with that. We haven't had apple somtam since that first year.

[heidi husnak]

I love these types of salads. I think I will try it with raw young sweet corn from the farm stand and field down the road rather than cooked once the corn comes into season, I think capturing any corn milk that is released would also be nice.

[twitter.com/bob_ferrapuhls]

Two of my favorite vegetable salads are som tam and summer corn with basil, cherry tomato, sherry vinaigrette and sometimes orzo. I never imagined switching up the ingredients of the two.

The Vietnamese version of green papaya salad often has dried beef "jerky" in it. Might be interesting to try with the corn version of som tam.

[The Food Sage]

Just had a fabulous deep fried soft shell crab with somtam at a Sydney restaurant. The salad was on top of the crab, which soaked up the wonderful juice! What I love about somtam is the textures - crunchy peanuts & bashed green beans, sofetr but still slightly crunchy green papaya, and the wonderful chewiness of dried shrimp that have softened with the moisture!! Thx for recipe in this post.

[Robyn]

Nate - yes. But frozen isn't, just let it thaw thoroughly and blanch it if you absolutely need to soften it a bit. (But don't you get corn in Sarawak? Corn is everywhere here in KL.)

Albert - no, not in these kind of pounded salads, not usually. But you could add very thinly sliced lemongrass to 'salads' like yam woonsen (rice noodles with pork), yam talay (warm seafood salad), yam nya yang (grilled beef salad).

Teri, you're welcome. Go for it!

Bernadette - green apple somtam sounds great! You should recreate it.

Heidi - did you try it with the fresh corn? The sweet corn milk would definately add a nice dimension. (Cold corn 'milk' is sold at stands in northern Thailand BTW. Delicious and refreshing.)

Bob - I love that Viet green papaya/beef salad, and we used to eat lots of corn/pasta salad when we lived in Calif. Lots of ways you could go here. I think a little smoked fish (mackerel) tossed into a really tart green mango salad would be nice. Or cooked Chinese sausage added to the papaya. Something with a bit of saltiness and bold flavor with the fruit.

Food Sage -- that sounds fantastic. What I wouldn't give for a deep-fried soft shell crab.