Som Tam Chicken Tacos

Method

1. Finely chop half the garlic and juice a quarter of the limes. Massage the chicken with the fish sauce, brown sugar, oil, chopped garlic and lime juice and marinate in the fridge for at least 15 min. Overnight is fine, but not longer: the lime starts to make the meat mushy.

   Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 300 gFish sauce (marinade) 3 tspLight brown sugar (marinade) 1½ tspVegetable oil (marinade) 1½ tspGarlic cloves 1½Limes ½

2. Shred the papaya finely and squeeze it dry; quarter the tomatoes. In a mortar or bowl, pound the remaining garlic with the chili, add the palm sugar, fish sauce and the juice of half the limes and stir until dissolved, then add the papaya and tomatoes and tap and toss for 1 min. It's going into tacos, so pour off any excess liquid.

   Add in this stepGreen papaya (or cucumber and carrot) 200 gGarlic cloves 1½Bird's eye chilies 1Palm sugar (slaw) 2 tspFish sauce (slaw) 2 tspLimes 1Cherry tomatoes 6

3. Mash the avocado with a fork and stir in the sour cream, the remaining lime juice and the salt until smooth. Press cling film onto the surface to stop it browning.

   Add in this stepRipe avocado 1Sour cream 3 tbspLimes ½Salt 1 pinch

4. Heat a 24 cm grill pan or frying pan on medium-high heat until very hot. Lay the chicken flat and cook for 8 min, turning once halfway. The sugar browns quickly, so turn the heat down slightly if it threatens to burn. When the thickest part reaches 75 °C or the juices run clear, rest it for 3 minutes, then slice 1 cm wide.

   medium-high heat

5. Heat a dry pan on medium-high heat and warm the tortillas one at a time for 1 min 30 sec in total, flipping, until soft with a few brown spots. Wrap them in a clean tea towel to keep warm.

   Add in this stepCorn tortillas (15 cm) 4

   medium-high heat

6. Spread each tortilla with crema, add the chicken and som tam slaw, and scatter with chopped peanuts and cilantro. Serve right away with the remaining lime cut into wedges.

   Add in this stepRoasted peanuts, roughly chopped 2 tbspCilantro to taste