Green Papaya Salad
I’m back….finally!
We’ve just returned from a lovely holiday in the UK
But after 3 weeks of freezing cold temperatures, and eating hot, heavy food
I’m loving the warmth and light, fresh food of summer
So I’ve decided to kick the year off with a recipe for one of my favourite salads….
Green papaya salad – often also called green paw paw salad – YUM!!!
This salad is exactly what I want to eat when it is hot
It’s light, refreshing, crunchy, incredibly tasty and can be adapted in so many ways
Here are just a few suggestions of how to vary this gorgeous salad:
– add 1 clove of garlic, crushed
– add fresh, diced mango – this is my current favourite variation
– add sliced cucumber, red capsicum or snow peas
– replace the carrot with (or just add) half a cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
– replace the bean sprouts with (or just add) blanched green beans or snake beans
– replace the coriander with fresh basil
– use peanuts instead of cashews
– for a vegetarian/vegan version, replace the fish sauce with tamari or soy sauce
– serve with poached chicken, cooked prawns, salt ‘n pepper or sesame crusted tofu
– or serve with these gorgeous Thai fish cakes
I just love the pungent dressing for this salad that combines the four taste elements – salty (fish sauce), spicy (chilli), sour (lime juice) and sweet (brown sugar)
And best of all, this salad is really quick and easy to make – especially if you use a mandolin to slice the papaya and carrot
I do hope you give it a go and love it as much as I do!
- 3 teaspoons of grated palm sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ½ - 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ long red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped, optional
- ½ green papaya, shredded (a mandolin is ideal)
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed and drained well
- ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh coriander, chopped - or 1 tablespoon Vietnamese mint
- ¼ cup toasted cashews or peanuts, roughly chopped
- Optional Extras
- Garlic
- Mango
- Cooked chicken or prawns
- Thai fish cakes
- Salt and pepper or sesame crusted tofu
- Cherry tomatoes
- Green or Snake beans
- Cucumber, Red capsicum or Snow peas
- Mix the sugar with 1 tablespoon of boiling water and stir to dissolve.
- Combine the dissolved sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and sesame oil in a medium-large bowl.
- Add the chilli, papaya, carrot, sprouts and herbs to the bowl and toss to combine.
- Transfer salad to serving platter and scatter the nuts over the top just before serving