Episode 173 - Green Papaya Salad

Today we head back to Southeast Asia for a wonderfully refreshing and tasty green papaya salad. The first thing will be to make my version of the salad dressing. It is best done in a mortar and pestle; I like to use the Mexican version - a molcajete. You can do it in a food processor, but I think that makes it too smooth and injects a lot of air. A little bit chunky is nice.
Start by putting the following ingredients in the bowl.
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3 green Thai chilis (+/- to your taste, and you could use red instead)
• 2 tblsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp shrimp paste (optional)
• 1 tblsp tamarind paste (easier to find than you might think)
Pound this up until you get a well-mixed paste. Add
• 1 large tomato, blanched, peeled, and chopped
Pound this into a loose slurry. Add and mix in:
• Juice of one lemon
• A few dashed of fish sauce
Taste and adjust if you want. This will need to sit for about 30 minutes for the flavors to meld.
While it sits, work on your green (unripened) papaya. This is not something you are likely to find in your local supermarket. We have never seen it at any of the big markets near us. However, it is common in Asian markets so hopefully there is one near you. If not, you could substitute a green mango. In a real pinch, you could use English cucumber.
Peel the papaya. Then make a lot of deep lengthwise scores into the flesh in a somewhat random fashion, but pretty close together. Then slice the papaya thinly along the scores so that you get a bunch of strips. You can do this for as much as you want. At some point you will get to the middle, so remove everything from the cavity and keep going until you are done.
Now you just put the papaya strips in a bowl, toss with the dressing, and serve immediately. It is so bright and refreshing, with the wonderful crunch of the papaya. Perfect for a warm summer day with a nice crisp white wine like a Chenin Blanc - Viognier blend. Our maybe a light, dry rosé. If you want to make it a bit more of a meal, add some grilled shrimp or calamari, which you could marinate in some of the dressing for 30-60 minutes before grilling. Have fun with it!