Sak (Thai Wooden Pestle)

The wooden pestle used with a tall clay mortar (khrok) to pound the ingredients for som tam and similar dishes, distinguished from stone mortar-and-pestle sets used for curry pastes.

Material & Construction

A single length of hardwood, often unfinished, sized and weighted for repeated firm pounding rather than the grinding motion used with stone equivalents.

Traditional Uses

Pounding green papaya, chilies, garlic, and other ingredients together to bruise and combine them, a technique that produces a different texture from finely blended alternatives.

Modern Availability / Equivalents

A stone mortar and pestle can substitute, though cooks familiar with the dish often note the wooden version produces a distinctly different bruised rather than crushed texture.

Care & Maintenance

Rinse and air-dry; avoid soap, which the porous wood can absorb and pass into the next dish pounded in it.

Used with a tall clay mortar.