Raw Papaya Salad (Blue Elephant Restaurant)

[jan.adams]

A traditional raw salad with a mildly spicy seasoning. Unripe papaya is firm fleshed so make sure you slice it thinly.
Ingredients
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 green bird's-eye chillies
30g / 1oz yard-long beans or French beans, cut into 2cm / 1/2 in pieces
20g / 1/2 oz / 1/6 cup dried shrimps
2 tbsp palm sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp lemon juice
60g / 2oz cherry tomatoes, quartered
30g / 1oz / 1/8 cup roasted peanuts
200g / 7oz unripe green papaya, peeled and grated into long, thin strips
For the garnish:
Green salad leaves
Method

• In a mortar, roughly pound the garlic and chillies. Add the beans and pound, then the shrimps and pound again until crushed.

• Add the sugar, fish sauce and lemon juice and stir together. Add the tomatoes and press with the pestle.

• Add the peanuts and the papaya and stir until well mixed in.

• Serve cold in a round dish lined with the salad leaves.

Serves 1

[Jean-Paul]

Can you do it without the sugar and still have it taste good?

[ko67]

Originally Posted by Jean-Paul

Can you do it without the sugar and still have it taste good?

Yup. You can use a papaya that is a little riper as well.

I would ease up on the fish sauce, unless you really like it. 3 tbsp seems excessive.

[Lost Dog]

Agreed on the fish sauce. That would be very salty!

By the way, that's the biggest avatar, ever. I didn't think one could have one that big?

[ko67]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

Agreed on the fish sauce. That would be very salty!

By the way, that's the biggest avatar, ever. I didn't think one could have one that big?

Not to mention fishy.




A little goes a long way.

And that avatar is monstrous.

[Lost Dog]

Nothing like a little fermented, pressed fish juice to tasty up a salad...

I actually like it, but one tablespoon of fish sauce can be too much for a whole dinner.

There are different fish sauces. Perhaps this one is a milder or more diluted variety?

I've never had palm sugar. Does it have a distinctive taste?

[ko67]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

Nothing like a little fermented, pressed fish juice to tasty up a salad...

I actually like it, but one tablespoon of fish sauce can be too much for a whole dinner.

There are different fish sauces. Perhaps this one is a milder or more diluted variety?

I've never had palm sugar. Does it have a distinctive taste?

Possible, but I have tried many, and they are all pretty strong, just the nature of the beast.

Never really played with palm sugar, palm hearts are tasty. I will go pick some up tomorrow and let you know.