Cooking in
British Columbia
Thai · Isaan
Som Tam Pla Raa — Fermented Fish Papaya Salad / ส้มตำปลาร้า
Som tam pla raa is the Isaan version of green papaya salad — made with fermented freshwater fish (pla raa) as the seasoning agent instead of or in addition to fish sauce. The pla raa transforms the dressing into something deeper, funkier, and more complex than the coastal-Thai fish sauce version. The fermented fish is used either as raw chunks stirred in at the end (for the traditional version with maximum funk) or as a cooked liquid (the fish is simmered with a little water, strained, and the liquid used). This is the version eaten with sticky rice in Isaan, and is an acquired but deeply regional taste. It is the standard version at most Isaan restaurants — the fish sauce version (som tam Thai) is considered the Central Thai adaptation.
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I
The Market List
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400 g
green papaya
peeled, seeded, julienned or coarsely shredded
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2–3 tbsp
pla raa (fermented freshwater fish)
whole pieces for the traditional version; or simmered and strained to a liquid for the cooked version
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2–4
fresh bird's eye chillies
to taste
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 cloves
garlic
Your own market
1–2 tbsp
2–3 tbsp
lime juice
freshly squeezed
Your own market
100 g
cherry tomatoes
halved
Origin · ItalyNot yet stocked in British Columbia
60 g
long beans (snake beans)
cut into 3–4 cm lengths
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
If using the cooked pla raa method, place the fermented fish pieces in a small saucepan with a little water and simmer briefly, then strain and reserve the liquid, discarding the solids — simmering tames the rawer, more aggressive edge of the fermentation so the saltiness reads cleaner on the palate. Set aside; the liquid will be pale, funky, and deeply saline, and should smell of fermentation throughout. For the traditional version, reserve the whole pla raa pieces as they are.
2
Place the chillies and garlic in the mortar and pound with the pestle using the dtam motion — a rhythmic, vertical pounding — until they are broken down to a rough paste, working them together so the garlic mellows slightly into the chilli heat rather than sitting sharp and separate. The mortar should smell sharp and pungent.
3
Add the long beans and strike them several times to bruise and split them without reducing them to a pulp — cracking them open lets the dressing reach inside the bean rather than sliding off the skin. The beans should hold their shape but be visibly cracked and green-fragrant.
4
Add the palm sugar and pound briefly to dissolve it into the paste at the base of the mortar, working it in so it binds with the chilli and garlic juices rather than sitting in dry pockets that will never integrate once the wet ingredients arrive. The mixture at the bottom should be moist and cohesive, the sugar no longer granular to the touch.
From the canon — Palm sugar — made from the sap of the palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer) or coconut palm — is the primary sweetener of the Thai kitchen and one of the most … Palm Sugar (Nam Tan Pip): Selection and Use →
5
Add the shredded green papaya in two or three additions, turning and pressing with the pestle and a spoon between each addition so the paste at the base works up through all the strands evenly — bruise the papaya enough to open its fibres and allow it to absorb the dressing, but do not pound it to mush. The strands should remain distinct and lightly translucent at the edges.
6
Add the cherry tomatoes and press them once or twice with the pestle to burst them and release their juice into the salad, since that juice loosens the paste at the base into a proper dressing that coats every strand of papaya. The base of the mortar should now be visibly sauced — tinted red, pooling around the papaya.
7
This is where the dish lives or dies. Add the pla raa — either the strained cooking liquid or the raw fermented fish pieces — conservatively at first, then add the lime juice, tasting between each small addition of pla raa because its saltiness is extreme and once overdone cannot be corrected without unbalancing everything else. The balance must answer the fermented saltiness with enough palm sugar to round it and enough lime to lift it; the finished dressing should taste ancient and insistent, not sharp and bright.
8
Transfer to a plate or serve directly from the mortar alongside sticky rice. If using the traditional version, the fermented fish pieces are present in the finished salad — their texture is part of the dish. Serve immediately.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Aged, artisan-fermented pla raa from Isaan — whole freshwater fish, fully traditional preparation, with the complex funk and layered salinity that defines the regional dish at its most authentic.
02
Estate — Good-quality jarred pla raa from a Thai or Lao specialist supplier — fish pieces intact, the liquid dark and pungent; paired with papaya shredded to order from a ripe-skinned, firm green fruit.
03
Market — Commercially produced pla raa, widely available in Thai or Asian grocery stores — reliable salinity and fermented character, sufficient for the dish; papaya from a well-stocked produce market.
04
House — Strained and simmered pla raa liquid only, without the fermented fish pieces — the cooked version that delivers depth with reduced intensity, recommended as the entry point for those new to the dish.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. The cooked pla raa liquid smells of deep fermentation throughout the simmering — this confirms the fish has released its compound into the water.
◇Sound. The dtam motion of the pestle is rhythmic and vertical — a steady thud against the mortar signals correct technique, not a grinding or lateral scraping.
◇Sight. Bruised papaya strands are lightly translucent at their edges and glistening with dressing — opaque, dry strands indicate insufficient mortar work.
◇Touch. The palm sugar is no longer granular at the base of the mortar — it has dissolved into the chilli-garlic paste and feels smooth when pressed with the pestle.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies at the seasoning of the pla raa: it is so salty and so fermented that a heavy hand collapses the balance entirely — add it in small increments, tasting after each, until the salad reaches a depth that lime and palm sugar can hold.
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VI
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The pairing
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