Minttu’s Green Papaya Salad

I’ve named this salad in honor of my friend who loves it and demanded I write the recipe here.  It makes my heart happy to know she likes it so much.  I’ve never been to Thailand; and, if you had asked me before I made this salad, I would probably have said I don’t care much for that cuisine.  Oh how things have changed. I have never been previously drawn to sweet, sour and spicy flavor profiles all in one dish.  Perhaps as I get older I’m getting wiser.  It can be tough to strike the perfect balance between the three, but it’s like the holy grail…definitely worth the trouble.  I had a version of this salad about a month into my vegetarian journey and it quickly became an often repeated refrain.  I researched classic recipes and tinkered a bit until I settled with what I think is a crowd pleaser any time of year.  There are just a couple of ingredients you’ll have to travel off the beaten path to get, but one trip to Vii-Voann in Sörnäinen and you’ll be all set.  

Ingredients (2-4 servings):

Two garlic cloves, halved

1-2 red bird’s eye chilies, halved then quartered and de-seeded

5 cherry tomatoes, quartered

6-10 green beans, halved horizontally

Half of a green papaya, shredded

One large carrot, shredded

1 1/2 tbsp palm sugar

1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

Juice of one ripe lime

1 heaping teaspoon tamarind paste

Pinch of Maldon sea salt

Peanuts, toasted or roasted

4-5 medium Thai basil leaves, chiffonade

A handful of cilantro leaves, whole

 

Directions: With a medium or large mortar and pestle, smash the garlic cloves. Then add chilies and just bruise them with the pestle if you want a milder salad. If you like the heat, crush them a little further, but not so much that they lose their shape. Add in the green beans and tomatoes; just bruise the beans until they darken in color and smash the tomatoes lightly until they release their juice. Next add the palm sugar and mix together with a spoon or lightly with the pestle. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind and pinch of salt. It doesn’t need salt if you are not a salt freak like me!  Mix to combine and leave to the side. (In the pictures I crushed/bruised everything at once, which wasn’t the easiest way.  So do as I say, not as I do!)

Directions cont.:  Scrape the skin from the papaya, de-seed and shred in whatever way you prefer into a clean bowl. You can use a regular cheese grater, a special tool (I found mine at Vii-Voan) or you can practice your knife skills and julienne. Stop just before you reach the tougher inner layer that surrounds the seeds. In the same bowl, shred the carrot in the same manner. 

If your mortar and pestle is large enough, add the carrot/papaya mixture to it in two batches. Use the pestle to mix and lightly bruise the carrots and papaya.  If it’s not large enough, you can accomplish much the same in a normal bowl. Just be careful not to break it!  However; the first part, where you make the base sauce, has to be done in the mortar or a food processor.  

Finally, add almost all of the the basil chiffonade and cilantro leaves. Reserve a little for garnish. Mix and allow to combine for a few minutes. When serving, add crushed peanuts to the side or top. Many people are allergic to nuts, so it’s not a good idea to mix them in unless you are positive that it’s safe. If you would like to make this recipe completely vegan, just substitute soy sauce (or my ponzu sauce recipe) for the fish sauce. It’s quite good both ways. If you are not a vegetarian, this salad is absolutely stellar with seared steak slices on top.   Please make sure to get a good fire or smoke flavor in the char if you can. Medium rare.  Just saying…

This dish can be served on its own or over white rice. Honestly, it can be served in a multitude of ways but those are the most popular. I never have enough patience to make the rice! Maybe it’s the heat, or the peanuts, but I’m always super full and satiated after what seems like a small portion. 

I made this with two chilies and I have a cast iron stomach.  It was hot, not so hot I couldn’t take it, but I did break a sweat.  You might want to consider using just one chili, but I love the sweet torture of it all!

 

Tips:

The juice is so good, but if you’ve steeped the veg in it a little you don’t need to plate any. It just looks better without it and tastes the same. If you make rice, pour some of the juice over the top.

This is best made and eaten the same day. It will hold in the fridge, but the color starts leaching from the greens and looks less appetizing. If you have a big dinner and want to save time, prepare the sauce and vegetables but don’t combine them until thirty minutes before you’ll serve. 

If you can’t find tamarind paste (or tamarind), just omit or use more lime. I feel the tamarind adds a depth of flavor but the salad is just as good with lime alone.

You can add more of the same vegetables to the bowl once you’ve prepared the sauce and coated the papaya.  The ratios in the sauce are quite important, so don’t change that too much.  

You can also add other vegetables like zuchini or cucumber, just shred them in the same manner.  I’ve tried many different versions of this recipe, but find that this is my favorite combination.  I tried to add some sweetie this time, because it’s in season and it seemed like it would go… but no.  My plain original works for me.

 

 

I paired my salad tonight with this cute bottle of Estrella Mojito sent over by Hedoniistiviiniklubi.  It’s a mojito/wine blend that I wasn’t expecting much from… but it’s done really well! Sweet to acid is balanced perfectly over a nice baby fizz. I didn’t pour it over ice, and I’m glad. It was perfect very chilled in a white wine glass. A nice foil to the heat of these bird’s eye chilies. My only problem with it was that it drinks too fast!  I’d say it’s a great surprise bottle to just have chilled in your fridge for when a friend pops over for a chat and a snack.  Mmmm, probably great with tapas too, or the brie de meaux and truffle chips extravaganza I had while I was making my salad….  It’s not exactly an iconic winter drink, but it did call to mind those heady days of summer and remind that they are on their way.  A lovely thought on this blizzardy winter evening.