To make Som Tam with a mortar and a pestle:
1. Choose the right kind of mortar and pestle to avoid 1. producing a DOA Som Tam and, 2. an appearance of cluelessness.
2. Pound the garlic and chilies until they form a smooth paste.
3. Add the dried shrimp and pound until the pieces are broken up, but not completely pulverized.
4. Add the palm sugar (sometimes it is hardened and needs to be chopped into little pieces before being used in a recipe), maybe 2-3 teaspoons at first. You can always add more. The reason we’re adding the palm sugar now is because you want to pound it to a paste so that it can be dissolved more easily and blend more readily with the other flavoring agents which will be subsequently added.
5. Add the peanuts and lightly pound until they are broken into tiny pieces, but not to the point where they form a thick paste.
6. Add the green beans and crush them with the mortar until they’re splitting and lightly bruised.