When it was good…

When something is good, we would certainly want more of it. That was what happened when I made some som tum/ ส้มตำ (green papaya salad) that day.

We had a papaya in the house. When my missus brought it home from the shop, it was green so we waited for it to ripen. Eventually, it turned yellow so I thought it was all right to peel it and eat. Unfortunately, it was very hard, like an apple, even on the inside despite the fact that it was already turning red. That was why I decided to take some of it to make the som tum.

We had it for lunch that day and my girl said it was very nice. I only made enough for two meals so I told her that I would make some more the next day.

I cut the papaya into thin long strips and I took some of the Thai basil leaves in my garden and cut them thinly too…

I pounded 6 chilies, not those cili padi but the ones that are small too but  a little bigger, and 6 cloves of garlic before adding a handful of pre-soaked hay bee/udang kering (dried prawns)…

…and some kacang tumbuk (crushed peanuts). Once I felt they were all pounded enough, I added some gula apong (nipah palm sugar) and squeezed the juice of 6 calamansi lime into the pounded ingredients and mixed well.

I added the paste to the papaya and Thai basil leaves…

…and made sure that I mixed everything together very thoroughly…

All the papaya must be coated with the pounded ingredients.

Once done, I transferred everything into a container…

…and kept it in the fridge, to be taken out come mealtime. It is all right eaten cold, just as nice, I would say.