Som tam, a salad made with green papaya, is a really popular dish in Thailand. I don’t know any Thai who could live without it. When I first came to England, I lived in Jersey for a while and there was only one shop on the island that sold Asian produce. Green papaya had to be ordered in (it would take around a month to arrive!) and was really expensive, so I started experimenting with local produce. After a bit of trial and error, I found that swede worked a treat in this dish. If you are feeling adventurous, chop up a packet of lightly smoked salmon and add it to the mix.
Ingredients
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1 carrot, shredded
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1⁄2 swede (about 125g/4oz), peeled and shredded
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1 green apple, shredded
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1⁄4 spring cabbage, shredded
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1⁄2 cucumber, cored and thinly sliced
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1⁄2 green pepper, sliced
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1⁄2 red pepper, sliced
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1 red onion, sliced
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Bunch of mint, chopped
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Bunch of coriander, chopped
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For the dressing
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3 red chillies, very finely chopped
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3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
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3 tablespoons lime juice
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2 tablespoons fish sauce (for a vegetarian recipe: use 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon light soy sauce)
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1 tablespoon palm sugar
