The Many Foods of Thailand

That title was tad misleading...a bit of bait and switch you may say. If I had titled it eat, "Eating Som Tum Every Single Day" it might not sound as appealing.

Having grown up with Thai food almost always in the house, I have to admit that I was still pretty excited at the potential of trying new foods during my travel there.

Some foods were not so new...though this larb made my larb look ultra vanilla. I'll need to try again. It seems I missed the 400 Thai bird chilies in mine to give it the schmancy red flair of this one.

Some were truly new...and most often wrapped in banana leaves. I'll give this one a shot eventually as well.

Some were fabulous tasting like this fish smothered in Thai basil and chilies--but would I ever bring myself to cook a while fish? Probably not.

Some were not cooking at all but new fruits that were a bit painful to extract. Have no idea what it was but it was tasty.

Some were infamous...there are no words to describe the aroma.

And well, some were just incredibly familiar, and still destined for daily consumption. Minus one day. That's a whole lot of som tum.

Did I really need to have som tum just about every day I was in Thailand? Probably not, especially in light of the fact that I can actually make this one myself. But I did because I could. What struck me as most surprising about Thailand is that you really don't have to prepare any meals--it all goes back to that communal village thing. For breakfast you walk over a few houses and buy your choice of freshly cooked breakfasts. Same for lunch and for dinner. In fact, why would you cook when someone is selling an entire meal for 30-40 cents? You can choose when you want som tum and you can eat it regardless of what anyone else in your family is eating. It's probably a good thing actually, because if people were forced to turn on their stoves and cook in that heat, there would probably a sharp increase in violence.

But alas back here in the good 'ole US of A, I cannot buy som tum for 30 cents and am forced to slave over hot stove for hours. Or a grater and mortar and pestle for 10 mins. Same difference.

Som Tum or Green Papaya Salad

Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves, peeled

Pinch of salt

3-6 Thai chilies

1 tablespoon roasted peanuts, chopped

1 small tomato sliced into wedges

2 cups shredded green papaya (about 1 medium papaya)

1-2 tablespoons palm sugar

1-2 limes, cut into wedges

1-2 tablespoon fish sauce

1. Peel papaya and grate. Growing up my mom often did it old school: smack the green papaya with a heavy and sharp knife repeatedly in one direction until there are long shreds. Cut the shreds off. My aunt did it this way as well. Place in bowl on side.

2. Pound garlic, salt and chilies in a pestle and mortar until they make a paste.

3. Squeeze lime juice into the paste and drop in lime peels as well and smash with pestle a few times. Add tomato wedges, sugar, fish sauce and smash again, using a big spoon to scoop mixture up and toss before smashing again. Remove lime wedges.

4. Add shredded green papaya and peanuts and smash until coated. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with cabbage and string beans or long beans.

All the som tum I had in Thailand had those little dried shrimpy things. I hate shrimpy things so omitted them...but if you like them and want it truly authentic, add a couple of teaspoons in with the lime.