Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
Som tum (ส้มตำ — literally sour pounded) originates in the northeast Thai and Lao culinary traditions. Thompson's *Thai Food* places it in the context of Isan (northeast) Thai cooking — the most chilli-forward regional tradition in Thailand, where the heat level is significantly higher than the Bangkok central standard.
A salad of shredded green (unripe) papaya pounded briefly in a mortar with dried shrimp, fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, chillies, and garlic — one of the most perfectly balanced dishes in any cuisine, achieving all four tastes in a single bite of extraordinary freshness and complexity. Som tum is simultaneously Thailand's most eaten street food and the dish that most comprehensively demonstrates the four-taste principle.