Green Papaya Salad
There’s a reason Green Papaya Salad is one of the most popular salad recipes in the world. I make it constantly, and it’s a total showstopper alongside my Grilled Peanut Curry Chicken. I have a feeling it’s about to become a regular in your rotation too!
My Favorite Thai Green Papaya Salad Recipe
I’m hooked on this salad every single time I make it. It’s sour, spicy, a little sweet, and packed with umami from the fish sauce and dried shrimp, basically every flavor sensation you could want in one bowl. Add in fresh chile heat and a ton of crunch from the peanuts and papaya, and every bite just hits. Once you try it, there’s no going back to a regular green salad.
No cooking required here, just a mortar and pestle (or a bowl and a rolling pin) doing all the work. I make this whenever I want something bright and punchy to go with grilled meat, and it disappears every time!
Why You Will Love This Green Papaya Salad Recipe
- It’s bursting with contrast. Sour lime, salty fish sauce, sweet palm sugar, and spicy chiles all hit at once, and every bite still tastes balanced.
- The texture is unreal. Crisp papaya, juicy tomatoes, crunchy peanuts, and bruised long beans give you something different in every forkful.
- It comes together without turning on the stove. This is a true no-cook recipe, which makes it perfect for hot days.
- It’s easy to customize the heat. Add or remove chiles depending on your spice tolerance, no recipe overhaul required.
- It’s the ultimate side dish. Pair it with grilled chicken, shrimp, or sticky rice, and dinner is basically done.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Green papaya: Look for a firm, unripe papaya with pale green skin at an Asian grocery store. If you can’t track one down, shredded green mango or even cucumber can stand in.
- Garlic and red chili peppers: These get pounded first to build the base of the dressing. Remove the chili seeds for a milder salad, or leave a few in if you want more heat.
- Dried shrimp: Adds a savory, umami depth that’s hard to replicate. If you’d rather skip it, the salad is still delicious without it, just a little less complex.
- Palm sugar: Balances out the lime and fish sauce. Coconut sugar or light brown sugar both work in a pinch.
- Lime juice and fish sauce: The backbone of the dressing. For a vegetarian version, swap the fish sauce for soy sauce or tamari.
- Long beans: Traditional in som tum, but regular green beans cut into batons are a fine substitute if long beans aren’t available.
- Grape tomatoes: These get lightly bruised so they release their juices into the salad. Cherry tomatoes work just as well.
- Roasted peanuts: For crunch and a little richness. Swap in cashews if that’s what you have on hand.
How to Make Thai Papaya Salad
Make the garlic paste. Using a small mortar and pestle, pound the garlic until it looks roughly chopped. Add the chili peppers and continue pounding until very broken down (will sort of look like relish). Add the dried shrimp and pound until very broken down and forms a paste.
Finish dressing. Scrape the paste into a large bowl. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar, and whisk to combine.
Crush the peanuts. Add the peanuts to a large zip-top bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the nuts until roughly chopped, then set aside.
Prep the beans. Add the long beans to the same bag and pound with the rolling pin until bruised and a little juicy. Add them to the bowl with the papaya.
Bruise the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the bag and pound gently until slightly bruised.
Shred the papaya. Use a Julienne peeler to easily shred the green papaya into strips.
Add all ingredients to bowl. Add the shredded papaya to the large bowl with the dressing.
Toss. Add 1/2 cup (70g) of the crushed peanuts to the bowl and toss everything to combine. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the remaining peanuts.
Pro Tips
- Use a julienne peeler for the papaya. A julienne peeler gives you thin, even shreds that soak up the dressing far better than a knife-cut version.
- Pound, don’t puree. You’re aiming for texture, not a paste. The garlic and chiles should be broken down, but the beans and tomatoes only need to be bruised enough to release their juices.
- Taste and adjust as you go. This Thai papaya salad recipe is endlessly customizable. If you want it more sour, add more lime. If you want it sweeter, add more palm sugar.
- Add the peanuts right before serving. This keeps them crunchy instead of soggy, especially if you’re making the salad slightly ahead of time.
- Give it a few minutes to sit. Letting the salad rest for even five to ten minutes helps the papaya soak up all that dressing before you dig in.
How to Serve Green Papaya Salad
Personally, I love this green papaya salad with my Grilled Peanut Curry Chicken. A big scoop of sticky rice or jasmine rice on the side rounds everything out and helps balance the heat. If you’re building out a bigger spread, it’s also great with grilled shrimp, pork skewers, or a simple platter of grilled vegetables.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Green (unripe) papaya is meant to be eaten raw. It’s firm and mild, almost like a cross between a cucumber and a green apple, which is exactly why it works so well shredded in a salad like this.
Yes, you’ll want to peel it first. The skin is tough and not pleasant to eat, so a standard vegetable peeler works to remove it before you shred the flesh underneath.
It can be as spicy as you want it to be. This papaya salad recipe calls for three chiles, but you can use fewer for a milder version or add more if you love heat.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Keep in mind the papaya will continue to soften and release liquid as it sits, so it’s best enjoyed the day it’s made if you want maximum crunch.
Thai Green Papaya Salad
Ingredients
Method
- Using a small mortar and pestle, pound the garlic until it looks roughly chopped.
- Add the chili peppers and continue pounding until very broken down (will sort of look like relish).
- Add the dried shrimp and pound until very broken down and forms a paste.
- Scrape the paste into a large bowl. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar, and whisk to combine. Add the shredded papaya (no need to toss yet).
- Add the peanuts to a large zip-top bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the nuts until roughly chopped, then set aside.
- Add the long beans to the same bag and pound with the rolling pin until bruised and a little juicy. Add them to the bowl with the papaya.
- Add the tomatoes to the bag and pound gently until slightly bruised. Add them to the bowl with the papaya.
- Add 1/2 cup (70g) of the crushed peanuts to the bowl and toss everything to combine. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the remaining peanuts.
Notes
- Use a julienne peeler to shred the papaya.
- Look for green papaya at an Asian grocery store. It should be firm with pale green skin and no soft spots.
- Adjust the chiles to taste. Remove the seeds and use fewer for a milder salad, or leave some in for more heat.
- Add the peanuts right before serving so they stay crunchy instead of going soft.
- Best enjoyed the day it’s made, but leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
