Danger, here be monsters! This is the typical dish of Thailand consisting mainly of papaya, chillis, seasonings, chillis and more chillis. If you like chilli this is the dish for you. The recipe varies from province to province, in the North East they add some fish sauce for flavour, in other provinces it can contain pounded small crabs, or pounded pickled crab. Sometimes mango is added to give a sour taste. The recipe below is typical of North East Thailand.
Ingredients 
for 2 People ( medium spicy )
1 Papaya
5 Bird Chillis
5 Big Red Chillis
2 Clove Garlic
1 Lemon
1 Tablespoon of Old Salty Fish
1 Tablespoon of Fish Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
4 Cherry Tomatoes
Serve With
Any Salad of Vegetables
Preparation
Importance: you must have a proper Thai Mortar to pound the ingredients.
1. Chop the papaya into fine strips.
2. Pound the garlic and chilli to break it up
3. Slice the lemon and tomatoes.
4. Add the old fish sauce, fish sauce, sugar,1 slice of lemon and sliced tomatoes, and pound them a few times.
5. Add the papaya and pound again untill everything is mixed.
6. Taste it and add more fish sauce to salt, or more chilli to spice it to your preference.
Comments (4)
what is that green stuff on the left side?
btw, your site is really great!!! I'm visiting it nearly every day!
[Appon]
Thai Wing beans, similar to long green beans but with jagged 'wings':
http://www.khiewchanta.com/archives/2005/09/thai_green_wing.html
Posted by Guenther | November 1, 2006 6:29 PM
Posted on November 1, 2006 18:29
What's that green thing on the left? Looks like leaves but 4 dimentional.
Posted by Tweety | November 2, 2006 5:47 AM
Posted on November 2, 2006 05:47
i would like to eat rice in Bombo
Posted by vieng | November 17, 2006 5:01 AM
Posted on November 17, 2006 05:01
Just found your site while looking for recipe (among other) links for my website re-design.
The site is very nice, (clean and clear), the content is excellent, and the recipes are mouth-watering. Soom Tum is one of my favourite dishes - it brings back so many memories of Thailand. You've inspired a lousy cook to get back into the kitchen!
Posted by losdemas | December 1, 2006 11:53 AM
Posted on December 1, 2006 11:53