 | |
| Type | Salad |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Laos |
| Region or state | Southeast Asia |
| Associatedcuisine | Xishuangbanna (China),Burmese,Cambodian,Lao,Thai,Vietnamese |
| Main ingredients | Green papaya |
Green papaya salad[a] is a spicysalad made from shreddedunripe papaya. Originating inLaos, it is a national dish and a cornerstone ofLao cuisine, known locally astam som ortam mak hoong. The dish exemplifies bold, vibrant flavors, blending sour, spicy, salty, and sweet elements, and holds deep cultural significance in Laos.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Green papaya salad is also widely popular inThailand, particularly in theIsan region, which shares close ethnic and cultural ties with Laos due to its predominantlyethnic Lao population. Introduced to Thailand via Isan, the dish—calledsom tam[b] in Thai—became a staple ofThai cuisine and spread nationwide.[9][10][11][12][13][14] Beyond Laos and Thailand, green papaya salad has also gained regional prominence across continental Southeast Asia, includingCambodia,[15]Myanmar,[16] andVietnam.[17]
The dish is deeply rooted in Lao cuisine, where it is traditionally calledtam mak hoong (Lao:ຕຳຫມາກຫຸ່ງ,pronounced[tàmmȁːk.hūŋ],lit. 'pounded papaya') ortam som (Lao:ຕໍາສົ້ມ,pronounced[tàm.sȍm],lit. 'sour pounded [salad]'), in which the wordtam (Lao:ຕໍາ) refers to the pounding of ingredients in amortar, a method of preparation central to Lao and neighboring culinary traditions.
In Thailand, the salad is widely known assom tam (Thai:ส้มตำ,pronounced[sôm.tām],RTGS: somtam), combining the Thai wordssom (ส้ม, "sour") andtam (ตำ, "pounded"). In Isan, a region with strong cultural and linguistic ties to Laos, the salad uses Lao-derived namestam bak hung (Northeastern Thai:ตำบักหุ่ง) ortam som (Northeastern Thai:ตำส้ม).
Regional variations and names include:
Papayas andchili peppers were introduced to Southeast Asia by the Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the 17th century from theAmericas in theColumbian Exchange.[18]Simon de la Loubère (1642–1729), a French diplomat, mentioned in his book that the cultivation of papaya was already widespread in Siam in 1693.[19][20]
Although it is unknown when papayas and chili peppers entered Laos specifically, they had already been fully integrated into the Lao territory by the timeJean-Baptiste Pallegoix andHenri Mouhot visited in mid-1800s,[21][22] and were listed among key ingredients for preparing main Lao dishes.[23][24][25] The Lao were introduced to papaya (mak hung) fromKhmer Loeu living in provinces bordering the southeastern Laos (who called theml'hun orlohung/rohung in Khmer).[26] Papaya, among other fruits, were cultivated inCambodia in the 1500s.[27]
Green papaya salad was mentioned as a favorite Lao dish by a former Lao politician,Katay Don Sasorith (1904–1959), in a memoir recounting his experience during his primary school years in 1910s.[28] Furthermore, according to the travelogue “Nirat Wang Bang Yi Khan” written in 1869 by Thai poet Khun Phum, the dish was already known among members of the Lao royal family living as war hostages in Bang Yi Khan compound in Bangkok, Siam.[29][30] Thai historianSujit Wongthes has speculated that the green papaya salad originated during the late 18th to early 19th centuries in the communities of ethnic Chinese–Lao settlers living in what is now Central Thailand, where papayas were widely cultivated by Chinese immigrants. The Lao settlers, who were war captives deported fromLan Xang, adopted the ancient Lao tradition of preparing salads from fruits, calledtam som, to make salads from papayas. The new dish became known assom tam (the reversed order oftam som) and, along with the papayas, then spread to today'sNortheast Thailand following the construction of the Northeastern railway line during the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. The dish became more popular after the opening ofMittraphap Road in 1957, and has since become widely adopted by the ethnic Lao people of both Isan and Laos. Likewise, the hot flavour also spread to Isan and Laos from Central Thailand, which had been introduced to chilli peppers first.[31][32]
However, papayas and chili peppers were already integrated in the Lao territory and Lao culinary recipes in mid-1800s to early 1900s[21][22][23][28] while, during the 1950s and 1960s, green papaya salad and other Lao dishes were rarely known inBangkok. They could only be found around the boxing stadium that gathered boxers and fans from Northeastern Thailand, as well as in mobile food carts outside construction sites with Northeastern workers and gas stations serving long-distance bus drivers. Some believe thatsom tam gained popularity among the young Thai generations following an active publicity in the 1970s.[33][34] Furthermore, it was created using refined recipes of Laotam som, ortam mak hung,[35][36][37] likely brought to Bangkok by migrant workers from the Northeast during the mid-1900s.[38] During the standardization of the Thai national cuisine, green papaya salad was among the Northeastern or Lao dishes to be included into the Thai national cuisine and modified by reducing the amount of chilli peppers and increasing the amount of sugar.[39]
Others believe thatsom tam has evolved from a Thai dish calledpu tam or tam pu (Thai:ปูตำ หรือ ตำปู,lit. 'crab salad') mentioned in a recipe by chef, Khunying Plian Phatsakarawong in her 1908 cookbook. This dish shares similarities with modern-daysom tam but does not include papaya as an ingredient.[40][38] The earliest known recipe ofsom tam in Thailand appeared in the Yaowapha cookbook series by PrincessYaovabha Bongsanid in 1935, which includedSom tam ton malako (Thai:ส้มตำต้นมะละกอ) orKhao man som tam (Thai:ข้าวมันส้มตำ). This recipe is similar tosom tam as prepared today and includes roasted peanuts and dried shrimp as key ingredients. It is often served with rice cooked in coconut milk.[41][40][38][42]
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The dish combines the five mainbasic tastes: the sourness of the lime, spiciness of the chili,saltiness andsavoriness of thefish sauce, and sweetness ofpalm sugar.[disputed –discuss]
Pounded salads in Laos all fall under the parent category oftam som, which may or may not contain green papaya; when no specific type oftam som is mentioned, it is generally understood to refer to green papaya salad. For absolute clarity, however, the nametam maak hoong may be used, since this name means "pounded papaya".
In Thailand, it is customary for a customer to ask the preparer to make the dish suited to the customer's own tastes. To specifically refer to the original style of papaya salad as prepared in Laos or Isan, it is known asส้มตำลาว orsom tam Lao or simply astam Lao and the dish as prepared in central Thailand may be referred to assom tam Thai.
Traditionally, the local variety of green papaya salad in the streets of Bangkok is very spicy due to the addition of a fistful of chopped hotbird's eye chili. However, with its rising popularity among tourists, it is now often served less spicy than it used to be in the past.
Together with the papaya, some or most of the following secondary items are added and pounded in the mortar with the pestle:
Green papaya salad is often served withglutinous rice andkai yang/ping gai (grilled chicken). It can also be eaten with freshrice noodles or simply as a snack by itself with, for instance, crispypork rinds. The dish is often accompanied by raw green vegetables such aswater spinach andwhite cabbage wedges on the side to mitigate the spiciness of the dish.
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A non-spicy green papaya salad version exists in Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, which is much sweeter; it often contains crushed peanuts and is less likely to have fish paste or brined crab.[44] Driedbrine shrimp are used in this Central Thai version. There are also versions that make use of unripemangoes,apples,cucumbers,carrots and other firm vegetables or unripe fruit. Besides using varieties of fruits or vegetables as the main ingredient a popular option is to use vermicelli rice noodles wherein the dish is known astam sua.[45]
Instead of papaya, other ingredients can be used as the main ingredient. Popular variations in Laos and Thailand include the salad with:[citation needed]
The Thai variationsom tam has been listed at number 46 onWorld's 50 most delicious foods[46] compiled byCNN Go in 2011[47] and 2018.[48]
Sticky rice, laap, papaya salad: this is Thai food, right? Not originally. These well-known Asian dishes that have traveled the globe to appear on Thai restaurant menus everywhere are actually Laotian in origin.
Some Laotians will argue that the papaya salad was invented in Laos and then exported to Cambodia, Thai, and Vietnam, where it was adopted.
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.
While papaya salad is a signature dish in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, it's the Thai version that is the most famous. However, food historians believe that this dish originated in Laos.
46. Som tam, Thailand
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