Mortar and Pestle

While a food processor will do in most cases, there are some foods that need pounding in a mortar. If you own a strong one already, even if it not a Thai one, that's great.

If you don’t own one and would love to have one, here is the information that might help you make the decision. There are two types of pestle and mortar from Thailand, a clay one and a stone one. Both are frequently available at oriental groceries.


The clay mortar is meant for green papaya salad. The pestle for clay mortar is made out from palm wood. The pestle is much lighter than the stone pestle, thus it is good for bruising the green papaya without grounding it.

The stone mortar is used for pounding everything from garlic to curry paste. It is extremely heavy (10+ lbs). The pestle is made out of the same type of stone.
(www.thaitable.com)