The most famous, and for many also the original, tam (ตำ, [tām]), lit. "
pounded") style salad is som tam, made from unripe papaya.
The basic dressing for a som tam-style salad contains garlic, palm sugar, lime juice, bird's-eye chillies, dried shrimp and fish sauce.
This dressing is slightly pounded and mixed together inside an earthenware mortar using a wooden pestle.
With certain kinds of tam, some or all of the additional ingredients will also be pounded slightly if this helps to release the flavours.
Though with dishes such as tam phonla mai (fruit) or tam mu yo (a sausage similar to liverwurst), the main ingredients are simply mixed in with the dressing.
Many types of tam salads will also contain (sliced) tomatoes.

Northern Thai tam are quite different altogether.
Most of these dishes do not use any lime or tamarind juice, nor any vinegar in their dressing, thereby lacking the sour element seen in many salads.
Tam makhuea for instance, is made from mashed grilled eggplant, grilled shallots and garlic, roasted chillies, fish and shrimp paste and served with mint and boiled egg.
It is somewhat similar to other eggplant salads from around the world such as baba ghanoush.
Further removed from what would still be viewed as a salad in the West, is the northern Thai tam khanun, made with mashed boiled whole baby jackfruit, dried chillies, minced pork stir-fried with a chilli paste, cherry tomatoes, fresh kaffir lime leaves, and coriander leaves.
Another traditional salad from northern Thailand is tam khai mot daeng, made with the eggs of the red ant.
Phak phai (Vietnamese mint) is one of the more unusual herbs used in this salad.
A tam style salad from northern Thailand that is also famous in the rest of Thailand, is tam som-o (pomelo salad), in which the slightly pounded flesh of a pomelo is mixed with garlic, sliced lemongrass, and a thick pungent black paste (nam pu) made from boiling down the juices and meat of rice-paddy crabs.
The most famous, and for many also the original, tam (ตำ, [tām]), lit. "pounded") style salad is som tam, made from unripe papaya. The basic dressing for a som tam-style salad contains garlic, palm sugar, lime juice, bird's-eye chillies, dried shrimp and fish sauce. This dressing is slightly pounded and mixed together inside an earthenware mortar using a wooden pestle. With certain kinds of tam, some or all of the additional ingredients will also be pounded slightly if this helps to release the flavours. Though with dishes such as tam phonla mai (fruit) or tam mu yo (a sausage similar to liverwurst), the main ingredients are simply mixed in with the dressing. Many types of tam salads will also contain (sliced) tomatoes.
Northern Thai tam are quite different altogether. Most of these dishes do not use any lime or tamarind juice, nor any vinegar in their dressing, thereby lacking the sour element seen in many salads. Tam makhuea for instance, is made from mashed grilled eggplant, grilled shallots and garlic, roasted chillies, fish and shrimp paste and served with mint and boiled egg. It is somewhat similar to other eggplant salads from around the world such as baba ghanoush. Further removed from what would still be viewed as a salad in the West, is the northern Thai tam khanun, made with mashed boiled whole baby jackfruit, dried chillies, minced pork stir-fried with a chilli paste, cherry tomatoes, fresh kaffir lime leaves, and coriander leaves. Another traditional salad from northern Thailand is tam khai mot daeng, made with the eggs of the red ant. Phak phai (Vietnamese mint) is one of the more unusual herbs used in this salad. A tam style salad from northern Thailand that is also famous in the rest of Thailand, is tam som-o (pomelo salad), in which the slightly pounded flesh of a pomelo is mixed with garlic, sliced lemongrass, and a thick pungent black paste (nam pu) made from boiling down the juices and meat of rice-paddy crabs.
Thai salads