Green papaya salad (Som tam)

1. Peel and seed the green papaya and shred or julienne it into long thin strips; put in cold water to keep it crisp, then drain.

2. Toast the peanuts in a dry frying pan; cut the green beans into 4 cm lengths and halve the cherry tomatoes.

3. In a large mortar, coarsely pound the garlic and chillies, then add the palm sugar and pound until it dissolves.

4. Stir in the fish sauce and lime juice, then add the beans and dried shrimp and bruise them lightly so the beans split.

5. Add the papaya and tomatoes and work everything together for 1 minute, pounding with the pestle while turning with a spoon, until the papaya softens slightly and absorbs the dressing.

6. Pile onto a plate, sprinkle with the toasted peanuts and serve with sticky rice and grilled chicken.

Tip: Isan's best-known dish, made by "pounding" in a mortar; it tastes sour, sweet, salty and hot all at once. If you don't have a large mortar, bruise everything in a bowl with the end of a rolling pin.