Now THIS is what I call a salad!!!
And …welcome to THAI WEEK!
Welcome to THAI WEEK
Every now and then, I like to do a recipe theme week.
Green papaya
Green Papaya Salad(this recipe) Great as side, yet substantial enough as a starter.
Thai Black Sticky Rice Puddingfor dessert!
No oil in the dressing!
When shredded, flavour clings to the green papaya.
Salads can include everything from dried beef to pickled crabs.
Here in Australia, the Thai version calledsom tum is probably the most well known and most widely available.
Green papaya
So thats the version Im sharing today.
What goes in Green Papaya Salad
Heres what goes into the salad.
The dressing ingredients are shown separately below.
Green papaya
This is literally unripened papaya fruit that is the shape and size of a melon.
The texture of the inside is like potato.
The taste is faintly astringent but overall fairly bland.
You wouldnt eat it plain like other fruit because it doesnt have enough flavour.
Even though its considered a fruit, its not sweet at all in its unripened state.
How its prepared Peel using a standard vegetable peeler (the skin is quite soft).
You might see the peel weep a white liquid, just wipe it off.
Now cut papaya in half and remove the seeds using a spoon.
Then finely shred into matchsticks using a julienning shredder, as pictured above.
Where to find it This is a bit of a specialty ingredient.
at Harris Farm Markets in NSW and Queensland.
In terms of readily accessible vegetables, nothing is quite the same as green papaya.
However funnily enough, de-seeded and shredded telegraph / English cucumbers are the closest!
For this particular recipe, the snake beans are used raw.
They are cut into bite size lengths then pounded to soften and absorb the flavour of the dressing.
Find itat Harris Farms (NSW/QLD), some large grocery stores (Coles/Woolies) or Asian stores.
Substitutegreen beans / French beans.
Cherry tomatoes
Just every day cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes!
Thai basil
Thai Basil tastes like normal basil with a stronger aniseed and slightly minty flavour.
Best substitutefor this recipe is coriander/cilantro.
The next best substitute is ordinary Italian basil.
Cant find it?If you skip the dried shrimp, you may find the dressing a bit one-dimensional.
Quadruple it (ie.
x 4)
Fish sauce The other ingredient that adds depth and complexity to the dressing.
Yes, its pungent straight out of the bottle, but its considerably diluted once mixed with everything else.
(If youre really worried about it being strong, switch part of it with soy sauce).
Substitute with brown sugar.
Palm sugar comes in discs or in blocks, such as the cylindrical one pictured above.
To ensure it dissolves easily into the dressing, it needs to be grated.
I just use a standard box grater.
Limes Fresh is the only way!
If you dont have fresh limes, Id give this recipe a miss.
Garlic Essential, for flavour!
Birds eye chilli If you want the real deal, you cant be shy with the chilli.
The fact is, Green Papaya Salad IS spicy!
Some are so screamingly spicy youll be banging your head against the table in agony.
Prevent screen from sleeping
This one is not quite so brutal, but is still pretty high up on the spice-o-meter.
If youre really concerned, feel free to dial it back to 1 chilli.
Peanuts A good handful of peanuts is an essential part of the Green Papaya Salad experience.
Theyre mostly tossed through the salad as part of the dressing, some reserved for sprinkling.
The dressing ingredients are pounded first, followed by the remaining salad components.
We pound the components separately and bring it all together in a plain old bowl!
Crush shrimp:Add shrimp and pound to crush them.
No need to grind into a paste, just break them up.
TransferDressing into a large bowl.
Now, well use the mortar for other components of the salad.
How to make Green Papaya Salad
Once the dressing is done, its on to the salad components!
Transfer to bowl:Now add them to the bowl with the Dressing.
The dressing will further soften the beans given a little time.
This is why we do them before the tomato and papaya.
Crush tomato:Grab handfuls of tomato, and lightly crush with your hands then add into the bowl.
Add papayato the bowl.
As with the cherry tomatoes, the papaya is traditionallyvery lightlybruised in a mortar and pestle with the dressing.
But honestly, shredded papaya is so delicate anyway this step isnt necessary.
And in fact, you prolong the already short shelf life of this salad by NOT pounding the papaya!
Peanuts: Then add about 3/4 of the peanuts.
Toss:Working quickly, toss well with 2 wooden spoons or tongs.
Serving bowls:Transfer the salad into serving bowls.
Pile it up nice and high for a good visual effect!
Garnish and serve:Spoon some dressing over the salad.
Garnishwith Thai Basil leaves, sprinkle with remaining peanuts, then serve immediately.
As part of Thai Week here at RecipeTin Eats (see top of post!
), Im offering this up as a refreshing side salad to accompany theThai Yellow CurryI shared on Monday.
(you’re able to easily refashion this into a main course by adding a protein.
Try sliced medium-rarebeefortuna steak, barbecued chicken, pork, fish (trycrispy skinned salmon!)
Id stick to fairly plain treatments, since the salad is not short on flavour as it is.)
Some suggestions for Thai starters:
Thai Chicken Sataywith Peanut Sauce A firm reader favourite!
(Or tryBeef Satay).
Thai Fish Cakes The secret is red curry paste!
Ill be back Friday to serve you up dessert!
This entire Flan Patissier is for you, not for the builders at our home.
(Dream on Dozer.
