Papaya Salad

 

I am not a big papaya fan. For some reason all the papayas I have ever tasted taste like smelly feet to me. Anyone else have the same problem? But, I am a HUGE fan of green papaya. In case you are wondering, green papaya is not the same as a regular papaya. I was about to say it was a regular papaya, just green and unripe, but then I used the good ole' google and found out that they are not the same. Good thing I checked, eh? You can find green papayas in Mexican or Asian grocery stores. Green papaya is nice and crunchy & completely non-smelly feet in taste. Score and score. 

This is what those green papaya beauties look like. ^ I love this salad. It's healthy, crunchy and refreshing. But be warned it has a spicy kick!

1 serving
100 g green papaya, cut into strips
100g carrot, cut into strips
1 tomato, sliced
1 cucumber, cut into strips (if desired)
30g roasted peanuts
1-2 tbs fish sauce
1-2 tsp palm sugar
2-3 red dried chili peppers
1 lime
5-6 grilled shrimp (if desired)-personally, I love shrimp with this!

 extra peanuts and mint for topping (if desired) 

*In the original Thai recipe from our Thai cooking class also called for 2 long beans, cut into 1 inch pieces. But we never tried it with them & Zachary's not a fan of the squeakiness of long beans when you eat them. 

Cut the green papaya, cucumbers and carrots into thin strips. Slice the tomato into wedges. Combine and put aside. Place garlic, chili and the peanuts into a mortar and pound those babies with a pestle until the chili's and garlic are broken up.  Add fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and pound until the sugar separates. Add to your papaya, carrot, cucumber and tomato mixture. Mix well. To with more crushed peanuts, mint and shrimp if desired. Enjoy!