Making Som Tum

[pepperhead212]

This is a variation on a classic, made with kohlrabi in place of green papaya. I have tried a number of other vegetables, just to see how they turned out, simply because I love this stuff, and rarely have the green papaya around (and even when I go to the Asian markets, it isn't often in the best condition). Jicama was probably one of the best, being very bland. Turnips were too strong, rutabaga better, but still not as good as kohlrabi, which is easier for me to grow.

Here's a simple recipe, which I usually use to serve 2, unless part of a larger meal. I've other types with dried shrimp, which is delicious in it, if you like that flavor. I harvested a few heads of garlic - the ones that had already turned totally brown - so that I could have super-fresh garlic. Not easy to peel, but it comes off!

Som Tum
4 c julienned green papaya, or kohlrabi
6-8 ripe Thai peppers, to taste, sliced thin
6-8 cloves garlic, sliced thin
3 tb fish sauce
1 1/2 tb palm sugar
1/4 cup green beans, cut into about 1 1/2" pieces
6-10 cherry tomatoes, quartered, if large,
halved, if smaller, like Sunsugar (best here)
6 tb lime juice
1/2 c lightly crushed, unsalted peanuts

In a mortar, crush the peppers and garlic, until reduced to a paste, with smaller pieces of garlic. Add the fish sauce and palm sugar, and pound to dissolve the sugar. Add the papaya or kohlrabi gradually, pounding to soften the vegetable, and get it to absorb some sauce. Add the lime juice, pounding a few times to mix, then add the tomatoes and peanuts, pounding a few times to release some of the tomatoes juices. Serve, dividing the juice evenly between the bowls.
Ingredients for som tum. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Garlic and Thai peppers pounded first. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Fish sauce and palm sugar mixed in, to dissolve sugar. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kohlrabi pounded in gradually, to absorb some of the sauce, then add the lime juice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomatoes and peanuts pounded in briefly, to release some of the juices. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished Som Tum by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Could soy sauce be used in place of the fish sauce, for a vegetarian version? or would it change the taste too much ?

 

[pepperhead212]

The taste wouldn't be the same, for sure. However, I remember a method used in McDermott's Real Vegetarian Thai, where she substitutes 1 tsp soy sauce plus 1/2 tsp salt for each tb of fish. She says that it seemed that a 1:1 substitution gave an overwhelming soy flavor, and this was the best way to get a similar flavor to fish sauce, without covering up some of the other flavors. I have used this for a number of vegetarian or vegan friends, and the flavor in the dishes was great, as long as I wasn't comparing it to the same dish with fish sauce. I don't remember how she replaced shrimp paste.

 

[taxlady]

Isn't the fish sauce used mostly for its umami enhancing powers? Couldnn't the umami enhancing be done with something else like mushroom powder or MSG (if that doesn't bother you)?

 

[GotGarlic]

Isn't the fish sauce used mostly for its umami enhancing powers? Couldnn't the umami enhancing be done with something else like mushroom powder or MSG (if that doesn't bother you)?

That makes sense. I bet it would work.

 

[taxlady]

I was looking through the recipes I have saved on my computer and found this: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f160/vegetarian-alternative-to-fish-sauce-84557-2.html#post1248859

 

[powerplantop]

Could soy sauce be used in place of the fish sauce, for a vegetarian version? or would it change the taste too much ?

Larry I just posted what I use in place of fish sauce. It does taste different but gives a little of the sea flavor and is loaded with umami.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f83/vegan-fish-sauce-102444.html

 

[msmofet]

Would seaweed be a sub?

 

[Jade Emperor]

@pepperhead212 - your recipe is very similar to mine. The order of the pounding in the mortar is different though. Do you use the julienne method for your kohlrabi as you would the traditional street food version? I haven’t tried kohlrabi because it is as hard to find as the effort to find green papaya here.
I use dried shrimp, snake beans and tamarind water in mine, but the rest in your recipe is same as mine. I got mine from David Thompson’s book, and it is exactly like I remember it from Thailand.

FWIW, there are numerous vegan fish sauces available now, generally from Asian grocers.

 

[pepperhead212]

@Jade Emperor I have tried versions with dried shrimp, as well as recipes with tamarind as the sour, which were good, but I liked the recipes with fish sauce and lime juice better. And those purple beans cut up in the photo are a Thai red long bean.

 

[Jade Emperor]

@pepperhead212 my recipe still has fish sauce and lime juice in it also

 

[Badjak]

@pepperhead212
I love the stuff!
Have you tried granny smith apples? It makes a good som tum as well.
I grow pawpaws, so easy to get green ones.
I pickle them as well. I got one of them little slicy things, looks like a potato peeler and works a dream.
A little googling gave me exactly what I tried to describe https://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-BD2959-Pro-Slice-Peeler/dp/B00TN90LA8

 

[pepperhead212]

@Badjak That looks just like this thing I use!
Thai Kiwi slicer by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I never tried the Granny Smith apples with this. I actually considered trying to grow a paw paw tree (and keep it well trimmed back!), but I found that they need pollinating from another tree, so that was not something I would be able to do!