Thai Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam) with Lemongrass Grilled Chicken
A bright, crunchy, salty-sour-sweet-spicy salad of shredded green papaya pounded with garlic, chilies, lime, and fish sauce, tossed with cherry tomatoes, green beans, and toasted cashews. It's served with juicy lemongrass-garlic grilled chicken, inspired by gai yang, the grilled chicken traditionally eaten alongside som tam in Thailand.
Yield: Serves 4 · Active: 40 min · Total: 45 min (plus 2–12 hours marinating the chicken) · Year-round (green papaya grows year-round in the tropics; cherry tomatoes and green beans peak in North America in summer) · Best eaten: midday or early evening
About som tam: Green papaya salad comes from Isan in northeastern Thailand and neighboring Laos, where it's traditionally pounded in a clay mortar called a krok. Pounding gently bruises the papaya so it soaks up the dressing while staying crunchy.
Ingredients
Lemongrass grilled chicken
2 lb pasture-raised boneless chicken thighs (or bone-in, skin-on)
2 stalks lemongrass, tough outer layers removed, finely minced
4 garlic cloves
¼ cup fresh cilantro stems (or roots, if you can find them)
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp freshly cracked white or black pepper
1 tbsp avocado oil or melted grass-fed ghee
Green papaya salad
1 small green (unripe) papaya, about 1½ lb, peeled, seeded, and shredded (about 4 cups)
2–3 garlic cloves
1–3 Thai bird chilies (to taste)
1 tbsp coconut sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup green beans (or Chinese long beans), cut into 1½-inch pieces
1 carrot, shredded (optional, for color)
⅓ cup cashews, toasted and roughly chopped
Optional: 2 tbsp dried shrimp, for a traditional savory depth
To serve: fresh cilantro, Thai basil, and mint, lime wedges, and crisp lettuce or cabbage leaves for wrapping
Method
Marinate the chicken. Blend or pound the lemongrass, garlic, cilantro stems, fish sauce, coconut aminos, coconut sugar, lime juice, and pepper into a paste. Rub it all over the chicken and refrigerate 2–12 hours.
Shred the papaya. Peel the papaya, halve it, scoop out the seeds, and shred it into long, thin strands with a julienne peeler or the coarse side of a box grater. Rinse it in cold water and drain well. (The peel and flesh have a sticky latex, so you may want to wear gloves.)
Grill the chicken. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high (or the oven to 425°F). Brush the chicken with oil and grill 5–6 minutes per side (or roast 25–30 minutes), until charred at the edges and 175°F. Rest 5 minutes, then slice.
Make the dressing. In a large mortar, pound the garlic and chilies into a rough paste. Add the coconut sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice and stir until the sugar dissolves. Taste it: it should be salty, sour, sweet, and spicy all at once, so adjust to your liking. (No mortar? Mince the garlic and chilies and whisk them with the rest in a large bowl.)
Pound and toss. Add the green beans and lightly bruise them, then add the tomatoes and press them gently to release their juices. Add the papaya, carrot, and dried shrimp (if using), and pound gently while tossing with a spoon for about 1 minute, just until the papaya softens slightly and soaks up the dressing. In a bowl, toss and squeeze everything with your hands instead.
Serve. Pile the salad on a platter, scatter with toasted cashews and fresh herbs, and serve with the sliced lemongrass chicken, lime wedges, and lettuce leaves for wrapping.
Other protein ideas: grilled wild shrimp, seared grass-fed flank steak sliced thin, crispy pork belly, or a whole grilled fish. The lemongrass marinade works beautifully on all of them.
No green papaya? Shred green (unripe) mango, kohlrabi, or jicama, or use a mix of cucumber and carrot.
A note for pregnancy: Unripe papaya contains latex, which is traditionally avoided during pregnancy, and some animal research suggests it may stimulate uterine contractions. If you're pregnant, make the kohlrabi or jicama version instead.
Storage: The salad is best eaten fresh, within an hour of dressing, while it's crunchy. Chicken keeps up to 4 days refrigerated.
Nourishment Notes
Green papaya — vitamin C, fiber, and papain, a protein-digesting enzyme.
Pasture-raised chicken — complete protein, B vitamins, and selenium.
Lemongrass — citral, an aromatic compound traditionally used to support digestion.
Garlic and chilies — allicin and capsaicin.
Lime — vitamin C, which helps your body absorb iron.
Tomatoes and green beans — lycopene, vitamin K, and fiber.
Fish sauce — naturally fermented anchovies, rich in savory glutamates and minerals.
Cashews — magnesium, copper, and zinc.
Fresh herbs — cilantro, Thai basil, and mint bring vitamin K and aromatic polyphenols.
For your cycle: This light, vitamin C-rich plate is lovely in the follicular and ovulatory phases, when many women crave fresh, crunchy foods, and the chicken's protein and B vitamins support every phase.
Sourcing
Green papaya — organic, firm and completely green, from an Asian or Latin American grocer
Chicken thighs — pasture-raised, from a local farm raising birds on pasture, or White Oak Pastures
Fish sauce — made from just anchovies and sea salt, with no added sugar or preservatives; Red Boat is one example
Coconut aminos — organic and soy-free, like Coconut Secret
Coconut sugar — organic (standing in for traditional palm sugar)
Lemongrass, Thai bird chilies, garlic, cilantro, Thai basil, mint, and limes — organic, from an Asian grocer or farmers' market
Cherry tomatoes, green beans, carrots, and lettuce — organic, from a farmers' market
Cashews — organic
Dried shrimp (optional) — wild-caught, with no added colors or preservatives, from an Asian grocer
Avocado oil or ghee — organic, cold-pressed avocado oil, verified pure; or grass-fed ghee
— Anna aka Food Marshall