Som Tam Gai Yang

How to make it

1. Rinse the sticky rice in cold water three to four times, until the water runs almost clear. Then soak it in plenty of cold water so it stands a couple of centimeters above the rice (see advance prep).
   Chef's tip Glutinous rice hydrates almost entirely in the soak, not in the basket — steam alone leaves a chalky core. After 8 hours a grain should crush to a smooth paste between two fingernails with no white centre.
2. Pound the cilantro roots, the 6 cloves of garlic and white peppercorns in the mortar into a smooth, pale green paste with no visible fibers. It's the pounded paste, not chopped seasoning, that gives gai yang its depth, so keep pounding until the fibers are gone.
3. Stir the 3 tbsp fish sauce, the 2 tbsp palm sugar and the coconut milk into the paste, until the sugar is fully dissolved and the marinade is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Set aside 3 tbsp and keep it cold — it will be used for basting at the end, so it must not touch the raw chicken.
4. Rub the rest of the marinade all over the chicken and under the skin on the breast and thighs, so it sits directly on the meat. Place the chicken in a dish, cover it and refrigerate (see advance prep). ⏱ 10 min
5. Light a generous layer of charcoal in the grill and let it burn down for 30 minutes, until the coals are covered in white ash and glowing evenly. Then push the coals over to one half, so you have both a direct and an indirect zone. ⏱ 30 min · passive
   Chef's tip The white ash is the sign that the coals are burning clean — start before that and the smoke from lighting gives a sharp, sooty taste. Two zones give you somewhere to move the chicken if fat drips down and flares up.
6. Place the marinated chicken bone-side down in the indirect zone and put the lid on. Grill it for 30 minutes, turning it once partway through. The low, indirect heat is necessary because the palm sugar in the marinade burns long before the meat is cooked through. The skin should be tightened up and pale golden before you move on. ⏱ 30 min · passive
   Chef's tip Aim for a moderate lid temperature, roughly 160-180°C, and close the vents a little if it climbs. If the skin looks wet and sweating rather than tight and dry, the zone is too cool for it to set.
7. While the chicken is grilling, drain the soaking water from the rice and let it drip dry in a sieve. Then spread it in an even layer in a steaming basket lined with a cloth.
8. Steam the rice over briskly boiling water, covered, for 25 minutes, until the grains are glossy and translucent all the way through and cling together without being mushy. ⏱ 25 min · passive
   Chef's tip Sticky rice is steamed, not boiled — the soaked grain draws moisture from the steam and turns glossy and chewy. Too thick a layer leaves raw cores in the middle; keep it under about 4 cm and spread it evenly.
9. Turn the steamed rice out into a bowl and stir it a couple of times with a spatula, so the excess steam escapes and the rice doesn't turn gluey. Then transfer it to a rice basket or a bowl with a tight-fitting lid, where it stays soft and warm. The rice isn't salted — it's the neutral counterweight to the fish sauce in both the salad and the marinade.
10. Move the chicken over the direct heat, skin-side down, and grill it until done, 8-10 minutes. Baste it with the reserved marinade and turn it a couple of times, so the sugar caramelizes without burning. The skin should be dark golden and crisp, and the meat cooked through with a core temperature of 75°C in the thickest part of the thigh. ⏱ 8 min–10 min
    Chef's tip Push the probe into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone, which reads falsely high. The breast will sit a few degrees lower than the thigh's 75°C, and that's exactly right.
11. Place the chicken on a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes, so the juices redistribute through the meat instead of running out onto the board. ⏱ 10 min · passive
12. Chop the rested chicken into rough pieces straight through the bones with a heavy knife, and arrange the pieces on a flat platter.
13. Peel the papaya with a vegetable peeler, split it lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Shred the flesh into long, fine strips on a papaya shredder or the coarse side of a grater — the strips should be pliable but still firm and dry, since wet strips will drown the dressing. ⏱ 10 min
    Chef's tip The papaya should feel hard as a squash and the flesh be white to palest green. Pinking seeds or a sweet smell mean it's turning ripe, and the strips will slump instead of snapping.
14. Coarsely pound the 4 cloves of garlic and bird's eye chilies in the large mortar. The pieces should still be visible — som tam should bite back, not be a smooth paste.
15. Add the 3 tbsp palm sugar, dried shrimp and the long beans. Keep pounding for 2 minutes, until the beans are flattened and split and the sugar has melted into the chilies.
16. Add the cherry tomatoes and lightly crush them with the pestle, tossing with a spoon, until they have released their juice into the bottom of the mortar.
17. Fold in the shredded papaya along with the 4 tbsp fish sauce and lime juice. Pound lightly with the pestle in one hand for 2 minutes, while tossing from the bottom with the spoon in the other. The strips should become soft and glossy with the dressing without turning to mush.
18. Taste the salad and adjust with more lime juice, fish sauce or palm sugar, so salty, sour, sweet and spicy are in balance. Finally, fold in the roughly chopped peanuts, so they still crunch against the papaya.
19. Set the platter of chicken pieces, a bowl of som tam and the basket of sticky rice in the middle of the table, so everyone can reach it all. Each diner takes a small ball of rice with their fingers and presses it together in their palm. The ball is dipped in the dressing at the bottom of the salad bowl or used to scoop up a piece of chicken, and everyone eats from the same platters throughout the meal.