Yam (ยำ, [jām]) literally means "mix" but in Thai cuisine it normally refers to a type of salad-like dishes in the culinary repertoire of Thailand.
Yam can be made with a wide variety of ingredients as its main ingredient and nearly any type of protein, vegetable, fruit, herb, spice, and noodle, or combinations thereof, is possible.
The main ingredient can be raw, pickled, fermented, sun-dried, smoked, steamed, parboiled, boiled, grilled, baked, stir-fried or deep-fried, or combinations thereof.
Besides the main ingredient, the basic recipe of a yam will nearly always contain sliced fresh shallots or onions, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and fresh or dried chillies.
When herbs are used, it is usually Chinese celery, sometimes in combination with other fresh herbs such as spearmint, coriander leaves, spring onions and culantro.
Very often, sliced tomatoes are also added in, or finely sliced fresh spices such as lemongrass, ginger, galangal, or khamin khao (lit. "
white turmeric").

Examples of yam style salads are yam nuea yang with sliced grilled beef, yam khai dao with fried egg, yam tale with mixed seafood, yam mu yo with a pork sausage resembling liverwurst, or yam wunsen with glass noodles.
Some yam salads can use only herbs, spices and nuts as their main ingredient, such as yam takhrai met mamuang himaphan with sliced lemongrass and cashew nuts, or with stir-fried vegetables, such as water mimosa in yam phak krachet.
Depending on the salad, anything from crispy fried onions, crunchy nuts or seeds, to toasted coconut flakes can also be added to the mix to enhance the flavours, colours and textures.
Also, in many yam salads where the main ingredient is not meat, cooked minced pork can be added for extra savouriness, as often happens in yam wunsen (glass noodle salad).
After one look at the menu of a khao tom kui (plain rice congee) restaurant, it is clear that nearly any ingredient that one can imagine can be used to make a yam style salad.
To name a few: yam khai khem (salted duck eggs), yam kung chiang (dry Chinese sweet pork sausage), yam mu krop (Chinese crispy pork), and yam phak kat dong (Chinese pickled cabbage).
These yam that are eaten with plain rice congee tend to remain more simple in their preparation, containing only the basic "dressing" of lime juice, raw onion or shallot, chillies, sugar and fish sauce in addition to the main ingredient, with only some celery added where needed.

A few types of yam need special mention as they differ somewhat from the basic recipe as mentioned above:
Yam naem khao thot (also known as naem khluk) is a salad made from crushed, deep-fried ball-shaped croquettes made from sticky rice and curry paste as the main ingredient, tossed together with shredded fermented pork sausage, and mixed with peanuts, crushed dried chillies, lime juice, sliced shallots and fresh herbs, and served with a selection of fresh greens and additional herbs on the side.

Yam thawai is an elaborate salad made with chicken and a wide selection of vegetables, such as banana flowers, eggplant, string beans, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts, blanched briefly in coconut milk, and then served together with a creamy curry-like dressing.

Yam pla duk fu or pla duk fu yam mamuang is deep-fried flaked catfish meat served with a dressing made with thinly sliced unripe mango, shallots, chillies, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce.

Yam kung ten or just kung ten is a salad made with very small translucent freshwater shrimp.
The novelty of this dish is that a spicy lime dressing is first placed at the bottom of a bowl, which is then filled to the brim with the live shrimp and closed off with a lid.
When the lid is opened by an unsuspecting dinner guest, some of the small wriggling shrimp jump out of the bowl.
Kung ten literally means "dancing shrimp".
Shaking the bowl mixes the live shrimp with the sour dressing which kills them.

Northern Thai yam do not follow the usual Thai yam dressing in that they tend not to be sour at all.
Many are soup-like in appearance and resemble cold vegetable, meat or fish stews.
They are made
Yam (ยำ, [jām]) literally means "mix" but in Thai cuisine it normally refers to a type of salad-like dishes in the culinary repertoire of Thailand. Yam can be made with a wide variety of ingredients as its main ingredient and nearly any type of protein, vegetable, fruit, herb, spice, and noodle, or combinations thereof, is possible. The main ingredient can be raw, pickled, fermented, sun-dried, smoked, steamed, parboiled, boiled, grilled, baked, stir-fried or deep-fried, or combinations thereof. Besides the main ingredient, the basic recipe of a yam will nearly always contain sliced fresh shallots or onions, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and fresh or dried chillies. When herbs are used, it is usually Chinese celery, sometimes in combination with other fresh herbs such as spearmint, coriander leaves, spring onions and culantro. Very often, sliced tomatoes are also added in, or finely sliced fresh spices such as lemongrass, ginger, galangal, or khamin khao (lit. "white turmeric").
Examples of yam style salads are yam nuea yang with sliced grilled beef, yam khai dao with fried egg, yam tale with mixed seafood, yam mu yo with a pork sausage resembling liverwurst, or yam wunsen with glass noodles. Some yam salads can use only herbs, spices and nuts as their main ingredient, such as yam takhrai met mamuang himaphan with sliced lemongrass and cashew nuts, or with stir-fried vegetables, such as water mimosa in yam phak krachet. Depending on the salad, anything from crispy fried onions, crunchy nuts or seeds, to toasted coconut flakes can also be added to the mix to enhance the flavours, colours and textures. Also, in many yam salads where the main ingredient is not meat, cooked minced pork can be added for extra savouriness, as often happens in yam wunsen (glass noodle salad). After one look at the menu of a khao tom kui (plain rice congee) restaurant, it is clear that nearly any ingredient that one can imagine can be used to make a yam style salad. To name a few: yam khai khem (salted duck eggs), yam kung chiang (dry Chinese sweet pork sausage), yam mu krop (Chinese crispy pork), and yam phak kat dong (Chinese pickled cabbage). These yam that are eaten with plain rice congee tend to remain more simple in their preparation, containing only the basic "dressing" of lime juice, raw onion or shallot, chillies, sugar and fish sauce in addition to the main ingredient, with only some celery added where needed.
A few types of yam need special mention as they differ somewhat from the basic recipe as mentioned above:
Yam naem khao thot (also known as naem khluk) is a salad made from crushed, deep-fried ball-shaped croquettes made from sticky rice and curry paste as the main ingredient, tossed together with shredded fermented pork sausage, and mixed with peanuts, crushed dried chillies, lime juice, sliced shallots and fresh herbs, and served with a selection of fresh greens and additional herbs on the side.
Yam thawai is an elaborate salad made with chicken and a wide selection of vegetables, such as banana flowers, eggplant, string beans, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts, blanched briefly in coconut milk, and then served together with a creamy curry-like dressing.
Yam pla duk fu or pla duk fu yam mamuang is deep-fried flaked catfish meat served with a dressing made with thinly sliced unripe mango, shallots, chillies, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce.
Yam kung ten or just kung ten is a salad made with very small translucent freshwater shrimp. The novelty of this dish is that a spicy lime dressing is first placed at the bottom of a bowl, which is then filled to the brim with the live shrimp and closed off with a lid. When the lid is opened by an unsuspecting dinner guest, some of the small wriggling shrimp jump out of the bowl. Kung ten literally means "dancing shrimp". Shaking the bowl mixes the live shrimp with the sour dressing which kills them.
Northern Thai yam do not follow the usual Thai yam dressing in that they tend not to be sour at all. Many are soup-like in appearance and resemble cold vegetable, meat or fish stews. They are made
Thai salads