Carrot Somtum
Carrot Somtum
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This is a recipe for an adaption on a well known and much loved dish made in Thailand. Somtum goes with many other dishes and is usually made with hard green Papaya but this is quite hard to get hold of in many western countries. So instead we can use Carrots and get a very similar result. Try it and play with the balance of chillies (for heat), fish sauce (for the saltiness) and lime juice (for the sour tastes) or palm sugar (for sweetness) to get it perfect for your palate.
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Ingredients
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1-2 Carrot(s)
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2 Granny Smith apple(s)
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1 bunch Fresh coriander
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200g Cherry tomato(es)
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100g Green bean(s)
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4-6 Red chillies
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2 Lime (Juice)
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2 Garlic cloves
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2tbsp Palm sugar
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1 tbsp Fish sauce
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50g Peanut(s)
Method
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Peel the carrot and grate on a mandolin fitted with a julienne blade. Cut the apples into julienne cut, but leave the skin on.
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Top and tail the green beans and cut into small pieces, cook in boiling water for 2 minutes then refresh under cold running water.
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Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
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Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Roughly chop the chillies.
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In a pestle and mortar, Add the garlic, green bean and peanuts then pound. Add the tomato and chilli and pound a couple of times. Add the fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice and mix well. You should have a coarse paste. Taste the dressing and adjust to your liking
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Mix the grated carrot and apples into the dressing. Mix well
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Serve in the serving plate with a sprinkle of peanuts and the chopped coriander leaves.