The dish combines the five main tastes of the local cuisine: sour lime, hot chili, salty, savory fish sauce, and sweetness added by palm sugar. The ingredients are mixed and pounded in a mortar. As the name "tam som" suggests, sourness is a dominant taste; however, the more specific Lao name "tam maak hoong" literally means "pounded papaya". In Khmer, the name "bok l'hong" also means "pounded papaya". In Thai, the name "som tam" is simply a reversal of the Lao name. However, other pounded salads in Thailand are consistent with the Lao naming convention in which the word "tam" ("pounded") is listed first.