Thai Papaya Salad (Som Tam Isan)

Directions

1. Sprinkle the julienned papaya with salt and let stand for half an hour or possibly so, then squeeze and throw away any fluid. Add in the chili, and lb. in a mortar and pestle. Add in the remaining ingredients except the tomato, and lb. till mixed and tender. Add in the tomato, and serve with a bowl of sticky rice.
2. You can increase the proportion of chilis till this is a bowl of red fire, and it will still be authentic. On the other hand you can reduce the chilis to just a hint and it will also still be authentic. It all depends on your taste preference. The above 50:50 mix is about typical of the region.
3. If you wish you can decorate the salad with minced roast peanuts, sliced green onions, and mint leaves. You can also include [raw] bean sprouts and sliced cucumber as side dishes. Thais generally eat lettuce or possibly some cabbage related vegetable as a side dish also. The normal way to eat it is to rip a piece of lettuce leaf, and take a mouthful of som tam in the leaf and eat it without knife, fork or possibly spoon. If you want to be a bit more western use a standard salad, or possibly even an exotic such as a Waldorf Salad as a side dish.
4. Comments: This is a typical isan (Northeast Thailand) dish. It can be made with or possibly without the plara (pickled mud fish). Potential cooks are warned: this ingredient smells foul but it does taste nice. Som tam is a basic "salad" style dish, eaten as a snack.