Thai Spicy Long Green Bean Salad (Som Tum Tua)
Thai green bean salad, Tum Tua (ตำถั่ว), is a light, tasty fresh salad that is umami, savory, tangy, salty and sweet, and full of explosive flavors that will make you craving for more.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 5 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
- 1 large cloves of garlic
- 1-5 fresh Thai chilis, as needed for your spice level
- 2+1/2 cup green beans, cut into 2.5 inches pieces
- 2/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 Thai eggplant cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/3 cup shredded carrots. Use The Kiwi peeler to shred or use match stick carrot slices.
- 1 tbsp Pla Ra, fermented fish sauce is not the same as fish sauce
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice. Add one slice of squeezed lime rind to release oil and a slightly bitter taste.
- 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 1/4 cup dried shrimp
- 1+1/2 tbsp fish sauce. (I used 3 crab brands)
- 2-3 tbsp sugar. Palm, brown, white, agave, or honey work as sweeteners. Add more towards the end of the salad is too spicy.
Instructions
- 1
Pound the chilis and garlic in a clay mortar and wooden pestle to break up the herbs into large pieces but do not make a paste.
- 2
Add the green beans next. Pound these until they are well bruised and the pieces break apart but are not completely crushed.
- 3
Add the sliced tomatoes, eggplants, and dried shrimp. Pound together again with the pestle until bruised like the green beans.
- 4
Add the sauces: fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, tamarind, and Plara. Mix them well with the pestle and use a large spoon to scoop, swirl and toss the ingredients to get them all well blended. Go lighter on the pounding for this part. *Also, don't throw away the squeezed lime rind. Add them to the salad for the extra tart & zesty flavor from the citrus skin. Remove the lime pieces before serving. This typically leaves them on the plate, but they do not eat it.
- 5
Add the shredded carrot last. Pound and slightly one last time for 30 seconds or so. Use the spoon to scrape the sides of the mortar to get all the run-away pieces back together. Taste your salad and use fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, or Pla Ra to customize the flavors to your taste buds. That's it! Enjoy!