---
title: Classic Thai papaya salad (som tum)
description: Green papaya, lime, fish sauce, chili, and palm sugar: the real version, pounded, not chopped.
source: https://poopaya.com/papaya/classic-thai-papaya-salad-som-tum
---

Papaya is more than the app's namesake. [Here's why it's good for digestion](/articles/papaya-and-digestion).

This is the most common way papayas are eaten in the world: green, savory, and pounded in a mortar, not blended into a smoothie.

> **If you're pregnant:** this recipe uses green (unripe) papaya. The latex in unripe papaya has caused strong uterine contractions in animal and lab research, and there isn't enough human safety data to call it fine. Ripe papaya doesn't carry that risk — see [the caveat explained](/articles/papaya-and-digestion#who-should-be-careful-pregnancy-and-green-papaya). If you're pregnant or trying to conceive, skip this one.