Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad)

Prepare the vegetables. Peel and julienne the green papaya and carrot. Trim and halve the green beans. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Set all prepared vegetables aside.

Mash the aromatics. In a mortar and pestle, add the garlic and bird's eye chilies. Gently pound until they are fragrant and lightly crushed.

Add sugar and peanuts. Add the palm sugar to the mortar and pound until it dissolves and mixes with the aromatics. Then, add the roasted peanuts and gently bruise them with the pestle.

Mix the dressing. Add the fish sauce and the juice from the limes to the mortar. Stir well with the pestle to combine all the dressing ingredients.

Combine and bruise the salad. Add all the prepared papaya, carrot, green beans, and cherry tomatoes to the mortar. Using the pestle, gently pound and mix everything together. This action bruises the vegetables, helping them release their juices and absorb the dressing. Continue for 2-3 minutes until everything is well combined.

Serve immediately. Taste the salad and adjust seasoning if needed, adding more lime juice, fish sauce, or sugar to your preference. Serve the Som Tam fresh for the best flavor.