Som tam

Green papaya salad of Lao and northeastern Thai (Isan) origin, its name describing the sourness (som) and the pounding (tam). Strips of unripe papaya are pounded in a mortar with chilli, garlic, tomato, long beans, lime juice, fish sauce and peanuts. Crunchy, spicy and tart, it illustrates the Thai street food reinterpreted in the gastronomy served in palace hotels.