Classic Thai papaya salad (som tum)

Ingredients

• 2 cups green (unripe) papaya, peeled and shredded or julienned
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1–2 Thai chilies (fewer if you want it milder)
• 1 tablespoon dried shrimp (optional; cooked shrimp tossed in at the end works too)
• 1 handful green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small tomato, cut into wedges
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1–2 tablespoons palm sugar (or brown sugar)
• Crushed roasted peanuts, to serve

Steps

1. 1 Peel and shred the green papaya into thin matchsticks (a julienne peeler or box grater's coarse side works if you don't have a Thai shredder).
2. 2 Pound the garlic and chilies together in a large mortar until broken down.
3. 3 Add the dried shrimp, if using, and the green beans, and lightly bruise them with the pestle. You're not pulverizing, just cracking them open to release flavor.
4. 4 Add the palm sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice, and stir with a spoon until the sugar dissolves.
5. 5 Add the shredded papaya and tomato wedges. Press and toss with the pestle and spoon rather than pounding hard. You want the papaya bruised enough to take on the dressing, not mashed.
6. 6 Taste and adjust: more lime for sharpness, more fish sauce for salt, more sugar to round it out.
7. 7 Top with crushed peanuts and serve right away.