Originally of Lao origin (Tam Som), Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad) is now a recognized Thai dish which made it into the “World’s 50 most delicious dishes” published by CNN Go in 2011. It was introduced to central Thailand by people from Laos and Isan (Thai province bordering Laos) moving to Bangkok in the search for work. It is now prepared in many variations all over SE-Asia and in the western world, where it is mostly known under its Thai name “Som Tam”. The reversal of the Lao name means exactly the same like in Laos: “pounded sour”. It is appealing to the 5 main tastes of the Thai cuisine which are: Sour from the lime, spicy from the chillies, umami (pleasant savory), salty and sweet from the palm sugar. The green papaya itself is not sweet at all and has a slightly tangy flavor and a firm and crispy texture.
There are variations of pounded salads which do not necessarily contain papaya. It can be prepared as well with fruits for a more sweet taste. These salads are called Tam Pohlamay e.g. and we will show them to you in another cooking lesson.
A stir fried rice noodle dish found on literally every single night market in Thailand. Phad Thai is a real street food classic. It is pretty much a national dish, though not with a very long history. It became popular in Thailand during, and after world war II.
The recipe shown here is with the original preparation of the Tamarind Sauce, like taught in our Thai cooking lessons with Joy. It is possible to substitute this with the commonly available Tamarind paste.
Recently the Tourism Authority of Thailand published a video about this popular Thai dish:
The phase pictures in the recipe show preparing the sauce for about 4 portions at once, while the phase pictures for the Phad Thai itself show the preparation for only one portion. To have a good result, please don’t do more than one portion at a time or the noodles will stick together.
200gMeat / PrawnsIf you are doing Phad Thai with meat: Heat cooking oil in the wok and fry the meat until almost cooked first. Here we show Phad Thai Goong (Shrimp) which have a shorter cooking time and so are added later.
200gMeat / PrawnsIf you are doing Phad Thai with meat: Heat cooking oil in the wok and fry the meat until almost cooked first. Here we show Phad Thai Goong (Shrimp) which have a shorter cooking time and so are added later.
Instructions
Phad Thai Sauce
Mix tamarind with some water and use only the liquid, like learned in the cooking course, put aside. On the pic are the ingredients: Tamarind and the finished Tamarind Sauce, Palm Sugar, Red Onions and Salt.
Heat cooking oil in a pot and fry the red onions in it until golden brown.
Add tamarind sauce, palm sugar and salt. Mix well.
Add water, bring to boil and put aside
Phad Thai
Ingredients
Fry the garlic and add the egg(s) and stir until a little solid.
Add Phad Thai Sauce with the noodles. Make sure that the Phad Thai sauce covers the noodles. Bring to boil and let it simmer until the noodles are cooked. At this point most of the liquid should have evaporated
Add Cabbage and Carrots. Mix well.
Add prawns, bean sprouts and chives. Stir well. Add soy sauce and be careful not to overcook the prawns.
