Gaeng Jued Woon Sen (Clear Broth with Vermicelli Noodles)

Yesterday I had a poorly sick husband and unfortunately even this soothing bowl of gaeng jued (plain or clear broth) didn't help; it did mean I got to take it to work for my lunch though!!! As this is such a nutritious, dare I say it- plain dish (and by plain, it's far from boring; it just doesn't have the usual variety of herbs, spices and chillies that usually feature in Thai food) I had been saving making it for the next time my husband was feeling under the weather, which doesn't happen very often so it's been on my to do list for ages now!

In this recipe the vegetables, not the meat are the main ingredients, it can easily become vegetarian or vegan by using a vegetable stock, and substituting the meatballs with more tofu and mushrooms. 

Those of you paying attention may wonder where the curry is; 'Gaeng' is the somewhat unspecific Thai word for a soupy sauce or stew, it just so happens that most dishes with 'gaeng' in the title (Gaeng Massaman, Gaeng Kari, Gaeng Kiew Wan etc.) are what we in the west traditionally lump under the generic term 'curry'. Gaeng Jued, fits much better in the 'stew' category.

That cleared up, here's the recipe; it's a versatile dish- as long as there's lots of vegetables, feel free to chop and change your veggies and proteins. It is quite a long list but as everything is just getting boiled up together in a pot, it's not too onerous.

For 2 big bowls use:

• 200g pork mince
• 6 shitake mushrooms (soaked in boiling water for 20 mins)
• a small handful of Chinese jelly/wood mushrooms (soaked in boiling water for 20 mins)
• a small tube of soft egg tofu, cut into slices
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 5 leaves of Chinese cabbage, cut into large chunks
• 4 spring onions, cut into chunky slivers
• a good handful of coriander, stalks separated from leaves
• 1 nest of vermicelli (cornstarch/mungbean) noodles (soaked in boiling water for 10 mins)
• 500ml of pork stock
• 2 lemongrass stalks, lightly bashed
• vegetable trimmings (carrot peelings, spring onion trimmings, a celery stick
• a teaspoon of black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• a small splash of fish sauce

Start off by making your stock [I admit I had a head start as I already had some concentrated pork stock in the freezer that I had left from another recipe. I added 500 ml of water to the jelly stock to make it liquid again.]

To make the stock even more flavoursome add the trimmings of carrot, spring onion, coriander stalks (reserving the leaves for later) and a bit of celery, plus the lemongrass stalks into a large pot and cook over a low heat for around an hour, topping up with water if it gets too low.

While the stock is cooking make the meatball mixture. First pound up half of the coriander leaves, garlic and black pepper into a smooth paste. Mix this through the mince with the splash of fish sauce. Leave to one side for later.

After an hour, use a strainer to scoop out and discard all the solids, leaving behind a rich light brown clear broth. You still need about 500ml of liquid.

With all ingredients prepared and ready to go, heat the broth over a medium heat. Pop in the carrots and let them soften for about 5 minutes before adding both mushroom (sliced if they are large) for a further 5 minutes. Next in goes the noodles (loosen them in the broth) and the Chinese cabbage, cooking for a minute.

Grab the meatball mixture and use a large spoon to make egg shaped meatballs by pressing the mixture against the side of the bowl. Very carefully, push the mixture into the simmering broth; don't stir but flip them over after a couple minutes.

Finally slide in the tofu slices and heat through for a final minute.

Scoop a big ladleful of ingredients into a bowl along with plenty of broth, topping with a sprinkling of spring onions and some of the remaining coriander.

Pak Mara Pad Kai (Bitter Melon Stir Fried with Egg)

There comes a time when occasionally I have to admit defeat with one of my recipes, when I quite frankly hate it. This is one of those times. Bitter melon is most definitely not for me- although it's supposed to be very healthy for you and I purposely chose the palest ones the market stall had, it still tasted like something that shouldn't be eaten!! My palate just isn't accustomed to bitter as a predominant flavour. 

If you would like to try the health giving properties of pad pak mara kai, here's the recipe...

• 2 small bitter melons (paler are less bitter supposedly) cut in half lengthways and seeds scooped out, cut into thin slices.
• 2 eggs, beaten
• a big pinch of ground black pepper
• a small splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of fish sauce (or a bit extra soy if you're vegetarian)
• a splash of vegetable oil for stir frying

Heat a wok with the oil until hot. Throw in the bitter melon and stir fry for a couple of minutes until beginning to soften. Push to one side and pour in the beaten egg. Let it set for a moment before scrambling and then mixing all together again. Add in the sauces and pepper and mix well, frying for a couple more minutes before serving.

Yam Makeua Yang (Grilled Aubergine Salad)

This is a very healthy dish, which is fine but we ate it along with deep fried garlicky pork- khao moo tod gratiem (which will be the next post) so all was good! You could say this was the vegetarian brother of laab (chopped meat salad) as there's a lot of similar herbs and flavours used but none of the guilt. There's beautiful smoky flavours from the charred aubergine which goes great with anise and mint in the herbs and salty/sour sauce.

This doesn't take too long to make and the standard purple mediterranean aubergine does the job just fine in this case. Small Thai eggplants would be way to costly to make this dish in the UK due to how many you'd need. Long thin Asian eggplants/aubergines are another good (and more affordable option).

For a bowl of Yam Makeua (which is a perfect side dish for 2) use:

• 1 large purple aubergine/ 3 thin Asian/ 8 Thai
• 4 shallots, peeled and sliced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 2 red chillies, sliced
• 2 boiled eggs (optional but always nice)
• a large handful of fragrant herbs- I've used sweet Thai basil (bai horapha) and mint
• juice of 1 lime
• a big splash of fish sauce or light soy sauce

Put your aubergine(s) on a baking tray and grill whole, on a high heat until the skin is blackened and the aubergines wrinkled. It took me about 10 minutes, it'll take less for the smaller/thinner aubergines. You can also toast the aubergine directly over a  flame but it will get very smoky and sets the smoke alarms off indoors so best to save this method for outdoor cookery.

As soon as the aubergine(s) come out of the grill, cover the tray with a tight layer of cling film (which will vacuum itself to the hot aubergine) but once cooled a little will allow you easily peel off the skin.

Discard burnt skin and cut the smoky flesh into strips. When cool, mix in a bowl along with all the other ingredients, serving the boiled eggs on the side.

Gaeng Hed Fang (Straw Mushroom Curry)

Sometimes you just want a simple, healthy, quick to make dish. This was just a it- a quick mushroom and bamboo shoot ‘curry’ with lots of herbal flavours. Satisfying and comforting, it would be a great cold weather dish. I’m a big fan of texture in food and this was lovely, crunchy bamboo shoots contrasting with the slippery mushrooms.
This is northern Thai cuisine and starts with a simplified red curry paste. It has predominantly a salty/sour/hot flavour and if you don’t want it to be vegetarian/vegan, you can definitely add some meat into the mix.
For two people use:

• A drained tin of straw mushrooms, halved
• 150g or thereabouts of drained sour bamboo shoots (or use regular plus the juice of half a lime) cut into strips/small pieces
• a big handful of Thai sweet basil (bai horapha) leaves
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 100ml of stock
• a big splash of light soy (or fish sauce if not needed to be vegan/veggie)
• a small amount of vegetable oil for frying

For the paste, pound together:

• 1 lemongrass stalk (peeled and chopped first)
• 5 dried red chillies, ripped up
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 4/5 shallots, peeled and chopped
• a big pinch of salt

Heat the oil in a wok and when hot, briefly fry off the paste for 30 seconds or before adding the stock and soy (or fish) sauce. Pop in the bamboo shoots and mushrooms and let it reduce a little (say 5 minutes).
Just before serving, sprinkle in the basil leaves and spring onions.

Miang Kham (Wrapped Bites)

Something totally different today, thanks to another trip to Siam Smiles Thai supermarket in Manchester yesterday. We had some more amazing food there and will do a write up on the next post. The main ingredient for this dish- the bai cha plu (wild pepper leaves) we picked up there, it’s something I’ve yet to come across in the UK and seeing how it’s essential for miang kham, it would have been a shame to not grab a pack at just £1.65.
Miang (wrapped) kham (bites) are made of of the glossy wild pepper leaves (incorrectly often confused with the stimulant/carcinogenic betel leaf). They have an incredible perfume and taste which I found hard to describe as they seem to be made up of so many elements. Initially they have spicy hits of star anise then something akin to kumquat with a bitter-sweet citrus note. Exciting stuff!
Into the leaves comes an assortment of sweet, sour, spicy, salty, bitter, fishy, chewy and crunchy goodies- your mouth won’t know what’s going on- but it’ll want another one!!
This recipe will make around 20 pieces.
Start by making the sauce:
Bash together in a mortar:

• A small handful of dried pink shrimp
• A small handful of peanuts, toasted in a wok until lightly browned
• A small handful of fresh or dried coconut, toasted in a wok until lightly browned.

Then pour this mix into a small saucepan with

• A very big splash of nam pla (fish sauce)
• Half a cup of water
• A tablespoon of palm or light brown sugar

Cook this mixture down until it’s quite thick and sauce-like. While it’s cooking, prepare the fillings…

• A big handful of peanuts
• 6-10 red and/or green small chillies, finely sliced
• A big nobble of ginger, peeled and diced fine
• A big handful of fresh or dried coconut, toasted in a wok until light brown
• 8-10 peeled and diced shallots
• Half a lime, skin left on (if you like the bitterness), peeled otherwise, cut into very small segments
• A handful of small dried pink shrimp

Serve everything together, make a cone shape of the stalk end of the leaf, load up with a couple of pieces of each of the fillings then spoon over some sauce, roll the leaf up and experience a mouthful of flavour madness!

Makua Yao Nam Prik Pao (Aubergine with roasted chilli paste)

Despite being in house selling mode and what I said in my last post about not wanting to cook strong smelling food, I couldn’t resist another Thai dish. This one is ‘more or less’ vegetarian and is easily adapted to be vegan too, just check the ingredients on any chilli paste you use. It took about ten minutes to prep and even less to cook, so it’s perfect for a quick meal. Aim to get the aubergines to be a little soft but not mushy; you still want some texture in the dish.

For 2 big portions use:

• 2 regular purple aubergines/ 4 thin purple ones/ 16 Thai egg aubergines or a combination of. I used the thin purple ones, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 3 small red chillies, roughly sliced
• a handful of sweet Thai basil (or try using tarragon for an anise-like flavour as a substitute)
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• a splash of fish sauce (nam pla) or extra soy if vegetarian/vegan
• a heaped teaspoon of roasted chilli paste (nam prik pao- be aware some contain shrimp)
• vegetable oil for frying

This recipe it so easy; Make a rough paste by pounding the garlic and chilli in a pestle and mortar. Heat a big splash of oil in a wok until hot. Throw in the garlic/chilli paste and stir fry for a few seconds before throwing all the aubergine in. Depending on which aubergine you have used (green Thai need longer, large purple need less) stir fry for 3-5 minutes, making sure the garlic/chilli doesn’t burn. Add in the roasted chilli paste, soy sauce and (if using) fish sauce, mixing everything well for a further minute. Turn off the heat and stir through the sweet basil leaves until just wilted before serving.

Kai Jeow Cha Om (Acacia Omelette)

Day or night, omelettes are one of those perfect meals when you’re hungry and in a rush and Thailand is a great place to experience the omelette in all it’s glory. They are usually cooked in fiercely hot oil so they puff up and usually contain a small amount of filling mixed in with the egg, such as pork mince. I appreciate acacia (also known as climbing wattle or in Thailand; Cha om) isn’t something you’ll easily be able to get hold of unless you have a Thai supermarket nearby but it was something I’ve been on the look out for a for  while now and when I saw it at RaanThai the other week, I had this recipe lined up ready for it. It shares some of the properties of stink beans such as the sulphurous smell and taste and lingering odour about the person but this largely disappears at cooking time, unlike stink beans which stay potent for up to two days post ingestion.
***A word of warning- cha om is a spiky plant so you have to carefully pull all the leaves off the stems before cooking; avoiding the thorns and resulting finger injury.

For a pan sized omelette that serves one as a main or two as a side dish use:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 pack of cha- om (roughly a bowl full) Leaves, stripped CAREFULLY off the stems
• a small splash of fish sauce (nam pla) or use light soy sauce if veggie/vegan
• vegetable oil for frying

Mix the cha om/ acacia into the beaten eggs. There should be more cha om than egg. Add in the fish sauce and stir. Heat a big splash of oil in a small-medium sized frying pan and when the oil is very hot, tip the mixture in. Let it fully set underneath (about 1-2 minutes) and very carefully turn over and cook the other side for a further 1-2 minutes. When cooked, turn out onto kitchen paper to soak up excess oil then cut into pieces; fancy diamonds if you like, or slices/wedges/strips if you want to just get eating.

Som Tam Mamuang (Sour Mango Salad)

Hopefully by now, if you been following me for a bit you’ll know how much I love Thai salads and som tam (unripe papaya salad) in particular. I heard about this version a while back but while I can get unripe papayas fairly easily in my home town, it’s much harder to get sour mangos- about a year ago I came across what I thought were sour mangos at an Indian community shop but they turned out to be young mangos (i.e. pale yellow but still sweet). Nice but not quite right. Last weekend I had a fantastic trip to Thai superstore RaanThai on the Wirral, Merseyside where I got stocked up on a range of Thai ingredients including quite a few I’ve never see before (recipes to follow). Anyway, they did have sour mangos in stock,meaning I could finally make som tam mamuang (also known occasionally as yam mamuang). Just a word- they’re called sour for a reason- which for my tastes, is just perfect.

For a huge portion (enough for 3-4 as a side dish/starter) use:

• 2 small sour mangos (they should be hard and green skinned), peeled
• juice of 1 lime
• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• a big pinch of sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 red chillies (more less if you want)
• a small handful of peanuts, lightly crushed
• a very small handful of dried shrimp (optional)

In a pestle and mortar, pound together the garlic and chillies into a rough paste; add this to a bowl. Use a julienne peeler or try the Thai way (hacking strips with a cleaver) to shred the mangos into the bowl. Throw in the shrimps and peanuts, sugar and lime juice and fish sauce. Give everything a fairly rough stir/mash about for a few moments to break up the mango a little. Have a taste and add more lime/fish sauce/sugar as to your tastes, if you feel it needs it.

Pad Pak Bung Fai Daeng (Hot Fire Morning Glory)

This is something I make pretty regularly as an accompaniment to other Thai dishes I make. I don’t really see it as being a ‘veggie’ dish. It easily can stand up to other protein based dishes in it’s own right as it has so much flavour and texture. It’s a seriously potent dish. If you ate this in Thailand you may get the showmanship involved with it’s cooking process. The dish is so named for the flames that erupt around the wok when cooked over a raging gas burner.

For two portions use:

• a bunch of morning glory, washed, trimmed and cut into finger length pieces
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 small red chillies
• a big pinch of sugar
• a big splash of oyster sauce (substitute mushroom ketchup for vegans)
• a big splash of soy sauce
• a small splash of yellow bean sauce
• a big splash of water
• vegetable oil for frying

Bash up the garlic and chilli in a mortar into a rough paste. Heat a wok and when hot, swirl in the vegetable oil. When smoking, throw in the garlic/ chilli paste, stir fry for just a few seconds before throwing in all of the morning glory. Stir fry briefly for a minute. Now add in the sugar, three sauces and water. Stir fry for a further minute and turn out on a plate. For some reason, this always tastes better, and the sauce has a better consistency if you leave the dish somewhere warm to sit for 5 minutes. I often make this then leave it in the oven while finishing off another Thai recipe. Serve with white rice

Pad Pak Ruam Mit (Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables)

Sometimes you just need a healthy stir fry of fresh and vibrant crunchy vegetables. Sometimes you don’t and only deep fried will do. I like a happy medium; if I do an unhealthy and/or meat based dish like my crisp garlic chicken- gai tod gratiem I like to have a dish like this to serve on the side. It creates a good balance, don’t you think?

This recipe is very flexible- use whatever combination of crunchy vegetables you have to hand…


For two people I used:

• a handful of beansprouts


• 5 or 6 baby corn, cut into chunky pieces


• a small bunch of yu choy (Chinese spinach), cut into chunks


• 3 spring onions, chopped small


• a small handful of oyster mushrooms, ripped up


• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed


• a big splash of Thai fish sauce- soy sauce is a fine substitute for veggies/vegans


• a big splash of oyster sauce- use a bit more soy or mushroom ketchup if you’re vegetarian/vegan


• a small splash of yellow bean sauce


• a big pinch of pepper


• a small splash of vegetable oil for frying

Heat a wok until hot and add in the veggie oil- throw in the garlic and stir fry for just a few seconds before adding in all the veggies apart from the spring onions. Stir fry these for about 3 minutes until they’re lightly cooked. Add in the sauces and pepper and cook for a further minute. If you like a little more sauce,add in a splash of water.

Just before turning off the heat; throw in the spring onions and stir through. That’s about it- it only takes 5 minutes to cook, so it’s a great one if you need food quickly!

Yam Kai Dao (Fried Egg Salad)

Salads are pretty healthy kinds of things,that is until you throw a few crispy deep-fried eggs into them! If you think a fried egg salad sounds weird; just give it a try, it’s a perfect match.

I love Thai salads- they have lots of crunchy vegetables, they’re hot, sweet, sour and salty and they usually include protein unlike a lot of western salads.

This quite easily makes a meal for one or serve with a dish or two more if serving a few people.


use:

• 2 eggs


• vegetable oil for deep frying


• a big handful of coriander leaves, torn


• 1 stalk of celery,finely sliced


• ¼ white onion, finely sliced


• 1 carrot, shredded/julienned


• ½ mooli/daikon or radish, julienned or sliced


• 2 red chillies,finely sliced


• juice of 1 lime


• 2 cloves of garlic


• a large pinch of sugar


• a splash of fish sauce (nam pla)

Throw the coriander, chillies and chopped vegetables into a bowl. Heat a wok and when hot,add in enough oil to deep fry the eggs (about 1 inch/ 3cm depth), When the oil is really hot, crack in an egg- it’ll puff up and spit so watch out. It’ll be brown and crispy in about 30 seconds, use a spatula to turn it over and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Gently lift the egg out and drain on kitchen paper.Repeat with the other egg.

The eggs will be okay for a few minutes or so while you make the dressing. Bash up the garlic and sugar in a pestle and mortar before squeezing over the lime juice and fish sauce. Give it a mix and pour over the veggies. Cut the eggs into three or four equal piece and toss everything together quickly before serving.

Yum Tua Pu (Wing Bean Salad)

I made this recipe a few weeks ago now and wings beans, for me were a totally new ingredient. I went away and did a bit of research on the most popular ways to cook them and came out with this- Yam Tua Puu. It’s a side dish on it’s own but could definitely be a main dish for one over rice. It’s also quite hard to describe- the beans have a satisfying crunch to them and the sauce is creamy, sweet, salty, vinegar (rather than lime) sour. It’s a really moreish dish- if you can get hold of wing beans from an Asian supermarket, please give it a go.

For a small side dish use:

• 1 packet of wing beans, trim off the ends and cut them into inch long pieces. Use green beans otherwise

 

Wing beans (pic courtesy of ‘the food canon’)

• ½ an onion, finely sliced


• 3 cloves of garlic


• 3 red chillies


• 200ml coconut milk (if using a tin freeze other half)


• a small handful of peanuts (crushed)


• a big splash of light soy sauce


• a big pinch of sugar


• a big splash of white wine vinegar


• juice of half a lime


• vegetable oil for frying

Start off by heating plenty of oil in a wok or frying pan and deep fry the onion slices until their dark brown (but not burnt!) and crispy. Drain them on kitchen paper. Next pre cook the wing beans for just 2 minutes in boiling water, then drain them and set aside.In a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic cloves and chillies into a rough paste.

Back to the wok/frying pan, heat the remaining oil and very briefly, fry the garlic/ chilli paste, a few seconds later add all the sauce ingredients- coconut milk, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and let this cook down for three or four minutes before adding the beans back in, along with the lime juice and cook for just a couple more minutes. Have a taste to check on the seasoning before pouring it out into a dish. Sprinkle over the crushed peanuts and crispy onions.

New Ingredient Day! - Water Mimosa

Pad Pak Grachet (Stir Fried Water Mimosa)

A week or so back now after my last visit to Nong Fern Thai Supermarket, I picked up something new; water mimosa. I’ve seen it a couple of times but never tried it before. It looked kind of strange, so decided it was high time to give it a go. It’s got long crunchy stems with lots of small, fern like fronds on it. Like a lot of Thai green vegetables, it’s often served as a side dish. I cooked it exactly the same way as another vegetable recipe I did a few weeks back- Pad Pak Kat Khiao 

To start I gave the whole thing a really good wash before separating the long stems into stalks and fronds. I discarded some of the tougher ends and twiggy bits before cutting the crunchy stems into inch long pieces. Everything else was then done as in the recipe (linked) above.

The verdict- It took a little bit of getting used to as it seemed very green and plant like (rather than food like), if that makes sense. I liked the mixture of the crunchy stems and the softer leafy bits. All the flavours used in the dish coated the mimosa and really complemented it’s slightly earthy flavour. All in all, I don’t think I’d rush to have it again but it was enjoyable to try it none the less.

Pad Pak Kat Khiao (Stir Fried Chinese Cabbage)

Following on from the weekend’s porky feast I decided a healthier vegetable side dish would go down well. This is a really flexible dish- It can be made with whatever crunchy vegetables you have in store and is a great way of using up left over veggies. Add in a few more varieties or perhaps cashew nuts too and serve with rice for a full meal. This version is as follows…

For 2 people I used:

• half a chinese leaf/cabbage, leaves cut into large chunks (available at all the main supermarkets)


• a broccoli stalk, cut into thick slices


• 2 small chillies (any colour is fine)


• 2 cloves of garlic (cut into slices)


• A good splash of oyster sauce (all supermarkets sell it- just make sure you get a bottle of plain oyster sauce, not sachets of oyster stir fry sauces, which often have lots of added ingredients)


• A good splash of soy sauce


• A pinch of sugar


• small amount vegetable/sunflower oil for frying

Get the oil heating in a frying pan or wok. When it’s hot, throw in the garlic and chillies and stir, just for a few seconds to flavour the oil. Add in all the vegetables you’ll be using and keep stir frying for a few minutes. Once the veggies have softened and maybe even a hint of charring to them, add in the oyster and soy sauces, followed by the sugar. Stir everything well for a minute more then serve out onto a plate. For some reason this tastes even better when it’s left to keep warm in the oven for 5 minutes before serving- give it a go, let me know what combinations of veggies you prefer.

Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad)

Som Tam (Green papaya salad)

I am addicted to som tam, yes, it’s a salad and that’s not something you’ll often hear. But som tam is no ordinary salad- it’s quintessentially Thai- it balances sweet, fiercely hot, sour and salty flavours and an awesomely crunchy texture. The juices dribble down your chin and the heat makes your nose and eyes run and leaves you looking somewhat spaced out. Give it a go and you’ll soon be addicted too! This salad, whilst made with several Thai ingredients, is an easy one to find excellent substitutes for.

For two portions you’ll need-

• An unripe green papaya (substitute 3 large carrots) 

• 3 snake or long beans, trimmed and chopped in pieces (10 regular green beans are a perfect substitute)

          

• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved


• the juice of 2 limes


• a good splash of fish sauce (called Nam Pla in Thai) don’t be tempted to use soy sauce- it doesn’t work. All the main supermarkets sell fish sauce


• a handful of salted peanuts


• 4 cloves of garlic peeled


• a dessert spoon of sugar (more or less to your taste)


• small red chillies, chopped roughly (however many you can handle! I use 4)

Like many Thai dishes, the recipe starts with a  paste. You’ll need a pestle and mortar (or improvise with a plastic/ metal bowl and the end of a rolling pin) Bash up the garlic cloves and chillies and sugar, only lightly though- you are only breaking it up a little. Add the lime juice and fish sauce to loosen everything and pop into a bowl. Next throw the bean pieces into the mortar and lightly bash them up too, tip in your bowl, Tomatoes next, again only very lightly to get the juices- throw them in the bowl too. Now the peanuts, lightly crush- throw half in the bowl and keep half back to top the salad with. Finally, with your papaya (or carrots) start by peeling the skin off. There’s basically two ways to prepare them- the fancy way (and probably safer/quicker) is to use a julienne peeler that cuts ribbons, I found graters are too fine and you end up with a pile of mush. If you really get into som tams like I did- I ended up ordering a gadget called a KomKom direct from Thailand- it was only a few pounds and shreds wonderfully.



However, if you like to live life on the edge and have no qualms about serious injury to hands and fingers, prepare your papaya in true thai style, get the largest knife/cleaver you have and holding the papaya, whack deep vertical lines all round, keep turning the papaya as you go. Eventually when you’ve done enough damage, shave the layers off the papaya. Check this youtube video for an example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHUC8he02fU

Finally, throw the papaya shreds in the bowl with everything else, give everything a good mix around, let the salad sit for ten minutes for the flavours to develop and serve up, sprinkling the top with the remaining peanuts. If all goes to plan, five minutes later you’ll be  puffing and blowing with burning lips and a streaming nose but you’ll be back for more, soon enough…