Som Tam Salad — Green Papaya Salad with Yardlong Beans
This Som Tam Salad is a green papaya salad with yardlong beans, mango, and cilantro. It combines the five basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, hot, and salty.
Preparing the salad
Prepare the green papaya by first peeling it and then using the peeler to shave strips off. Then take your knife and finely slice the strips before placing to the side.
Pound the chili pepper and garlic using a pestle and mortar until they form a paste. Add the palm sugar and continue pounding until the sugar is completely dissolved, and then add the peanuts and pound until they’re crushed.
Cut the yardlong beans into 2.5 cm pieces and halve the tomatoes. Add the yardlong beans to the chili pepper and garlic mix and pound them until they’re crushed as well. Add the cherry tomatoes and pound them, too, until all their juice is released.
Green beans: Although the original recipe calls for green beans, we have instead used yardlong beans (also called Chinese long beans). We have made this change because Thai recipes usually call for yardlong beans, and these are also easier to digest when eaten raw. But if yardlong beans aren’t available, you can use the same amount of green beans for this recipe.
Next add the green papaya strips and just keep on pounding (this recipe is very good for releasing pent-up emotions). If you find that it doesn’t all fit in your pestle and mortar, just put half the mixture to the side and pound it in batches.
Add the salt and lime juice and keep on going to combine it all. Peel and stone the mango and cut into thin slices.
To serve
Serve in a bowl and garnish with mango slices and cilantro leaves.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
Fresh Vegan Kitchen Pavilion Books Company Ltd, David Bailey Raw recipes 43 (4), Cooked recipes 76 (4) Additional photos (10)
Ordering
"Fresh Vegan Kitchen — Delicious Recipes for the Vegan and Raw Kitchen"
offers a large selection of Asian-inspired vegan and raw vegan recipes.
OverviewThe Fresh Vegan Kitchenby David and Charlotte Bailey is a cookbook that can provide even the most experienced vegan chef with new ideas — this is thanks to the large variety of creative, Asian-inspired recipes it contains. However, many of the recipes are actually not that healthy as they often call for large amounts of oil and fat and sometimes include a less than desirable choice of ingredients. In this aspect, the cookbook unfortunately does not differ from the majority of other vegan cookbooks on the market. But by slightly modifying the recipes, you can conjure up dishes that are not only tasty, but also healthy.
Critical book reviews Since August 2018, we have been addressing the use of ingredients that aren’t particularly healthy. Although we don’t change recipes that contain such ingredients, we do provide alternative healthier versions of these.
Overall impressionThe Fresh Vegan Kitchen — Delicious Recipes for the Vegan and Raw Kitchen by David and Charlotte Bailey includes a diverse selection of vegan and raw vegan dishes. David and Charlotte Bailey define raw food as food that has been heated at a maximum temperature of 46 °C. They point out that some of the recipes listed as raw in their cookbook do contain smaller amounts of non-raw ingredients. Their goal is to make the most of the wide variety of vegan ingredients available, rather than simply leaving out ingredients. This is why their recipes are mainly influenced by dishes from Asian countries, which have a long tradition of vegetarian cuisine.
The many varied and imaginative dishes are a good example of just how diverse vegan cuisine is. Unfortunately, only some of the recipes include photos. The recipes are identified as raw, gluten-free, and/or wheat-free. For planning purposes, it would be he helpful to have additional information about preparation times. Most of the dishes contain common ingredients and require only very few little equipment.
David and Charlotte Bailey believe that there are many reasons to eat a vegan diet: not only animal welfare and the environment but also health is an important aspect. They have therefore tried to keep the amount of saturated fats and refined products in the recipes low, as well as the amount of salt and sugar. Unfortunately, this has only been achieved to a limited extent; as a result of the oil or coconut milk used, many of the dishes contain a large amount of fat in places where it would have been easy to reduce. The frequent use of olive oil and cashews is undesirable because of their poor ratio of omega-6 (LA) to omega-3 fatty acids (ALA). In many cases, it would have been easy to reduce the amount of fat called for or use other ingredients such as canola oil or walnuts.
It is nice to see that the basic recipes for homemade broths and spice pastes are used in many of the recipes. However, in other places processed ingredients such as canned foods and even ketchup are called for instead of more healthy natural products. It would be nice if there were a more consistent adherence to healthy eating principles.
The Fresh Vegan Kitchen by David und Charlotte Bailey is a comprehensive cookbook that shows the wide variety of vegan options that exist. And just small changes in favor of more healthy ingredients make it clear that vegan cuisine is not only varied and delicious but that it can also be healthy. The Fresh Vegan Kitchen is currently only available in English and can be purchased from Pavilion Books and Amazon.
About the authorsDavid Bailey, who has several years of experience working in top restaurants, and his wife Charlotte started their business Wholefood Heaven in 2010. They sell vegetarian street food at markets, festivals, and other events. Their famous Buddha Bowl won the 2011 British Street Food Awards for Best Main Dish. In addition to their business, they are continually developing new recipes and writing cookbooks.
ContentsThe Fresh Vegan Kitchen begins with a general introduction that is followed by a section on the health benefits of raw food and one that provides vegan cooking tips.
The recipes are divided into ten chapters:
Breakfasts
Soups
Small plates & street food
Salads
Currys & mains
Sides & dips
Desserts
Pickles, spreads & treats
Drinks & smoothies
Basics
Breakfasts:This chapter offers a small selection of breakfast dishes, most of which are on the sweet side. You will find, for example, recipes that call for lots of seeds, nuts, and dried fruits like G’raw’nola and a fruity Acai Bowl.
Soups:In this chapter, you will find a wide variety of soups, some of which are raw vegan soups. The Asian-inspired Laksa and the Chilled Cucumber and Wasabi Soup are just two examples of the recipes here.
Small plates & street food:The recipes included in this section can be served as appetizers, snacks, or main courses. About one-third of the dishes contain tofu products and about a half contain convenience products such as tortillas or dumpling dough. Examples of recipes here are the Bao Zi Steamed Buns and Vegetable Tempura with a Citrus Soy Dipping Sauce.
Salads: In this section, you can look forward to a wide variety of delicious salads, of which about two-thirds are raw. Just to name a few, Som Tam Salad, Aromatic Thai Salad, Hot Aubergine Salad, and Raw Sprouted Saladare some of the options to choose from.
Currys & mains: Many of the numerous main courses included are vegan versions of well-known international dishes, and apart from a few exceptions the main dishes are not raw. Examples of recipes found here are Beer-Battered Tofu “Fish” and Chips with Tartare Sauce and Mushy Peas and Sicilian Arancini (fried risotto balls). Given the high oil content, many of this recipes in this section contain quite a few calories.
Sides & dips: Along with dips like Baba Ganoush, this short chapter offers vegetable and tofu sides such as Maple-Glazed Tofu.
Desserts: This chapter is full of fruity, chocolaty, and creamy desserts. Recipes to try out include Poached Pears with Vanilla Cashew Cream and Peanut and Black Sesame Sweet Dumplings.
Pickles, spreads & treats:In this section, you will find a wide variety of different types of recipes: from Sauerkraut and Powerballs to Probiotic Raw Nut Cheese.
Drinks & smoothies: Examples of recipes in this section are Soya Milk and Homemade Lemonade with Chia Seeds.
Basics: You will find recipes for dressings, sauces, broths, and spice pastes here that are then called for in many of the recipes. Asian Vegetable Stock and Laksa Curry Paste are just two examples.
The Fresh Vegan Kitchen — Delicious Recipes for the Vegan and Raw Kitchen includes a recipe index at the end.
Book review written by Dr. med. vet. Inke Weissenborn
This asian Som Tam Salad is a green papaya salad with yardlong beans, mango, and cilantro. It combines the five basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, hot, and salty.
Nutritional profile: According to GDA guidelines, a serving of this salad provides more than half of the recommended daily requirement for vitamin C. In addition, it meets 50 % of the recommended daily requirement for folic acid, manganese, and the amino acid tryptophan. However, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is significantly above the maximum recommended ratio of 5:1. Click on the link about the recipe photo to see an alternative healthier version of this recipe.
Vegan instead of raw vegan: Since the original recipe contains coconut palm sugar and dry-roasted peanuts, strictly speaking, this is not a raw recipe. We have therefore listed it as “Vegan” and not “Raw vegan.” In addition, the weight of the non-raw ingredients in this recipe comes in at over 5 %.
Som Tam: Som tam is a spicy, green-papaya salad eaten under various guises throughout South East Asia, either as a snack or with sticky rice or noodles. When you order one of these on the street, it is standard practice for the customer to tell the vendor exactly how he or she wants it done. As with so much of Asian cuisine, it really uses the five tastes: sour (lime), bitter (green papaya), sweet (palm sugar), hot (red chilli), and salty (er, salt). The key lies in combining these tastes to best effect, but it is a matter of personal preference, so don’t be afraid to experiment. A big pestle and mortar are vital for this recipe – the name translates as ‘sour pounded’ – as manual grinding really releases the flavours in the dish.
Green papayas: Green papayas are papayas that are harvested before they are ripe. They contain somewhat fewer vitamins and sugar than ripe papayas, but more of the enzymes that are needed to break down protein. Similar to vegetables, green papayas have flesh that is light green in color and are found in a wide range of dishes, especially in Thai cuisine.
Yardlong beans: These beans, also known as Chinese long beans, grow in tropical and subtropical areas. Whereas green beans contains high amounts of the lectin phasin, which can be toxic to humans, yardlong beans can be eaten raw in large quantities.
Coconut palm sugar: Coconut palm sugar is a common type of palm sugar. It is obtained by boiling and dehydrating the sap of cut flower buds of the coconut palm. Coconut palm sugar is basically sucrose as is common table sugar. However, its glycemic index (GI) is only about half as high as compared to conventional sugar, which makes it easier for people who are sensitive to sugar to tolerate. It has a slightly malty flavor, and the consistency is a bit like caramel.
Tips
Pounding the ingredients: To do this, it works best to use a large heavy mortle made of stone or clay (available in larger supermarkets and online).
Alternate preparation
Green beans: Although the original recipe calls for green beans, we have instead used yardlong beans (also called Chinese long beans). We have made this change because Thai recipes usually call for yardlong beans, and these are also easier to digest when eaten raw. But if yardlong beans aren’t available, you can use the same amount of green beans for this recipe.
