Winter Papaya Salad Recipes

PAPAYA SALAD (SOM TAM)

Steps:

• Cut off both ends of papaya. Use a vegetable peeler to remove green skin. To shred the papaya, hold it in one hand and use a knife to rapidly chop long, shallow cuts into the surface (making sure all the cuts run lengthwise, in the same direction). Then, thinly slice off the top layer into a bowl. This Thai method of shredding results in papaya strands that are pleasingly irregular and rustic. (Once you get the hang of it, it gets easier and you'll get much faster, but another option is to use a peeler with a shredding blade.) Shred ⅓-½ of the papaya, about 2 loosely packed cups; make sure there are no seeds.(Reserve the rest of the papaya for a different use, or for additional servings of papaya salad.)
• Salad: Place the clay mortar on a towel to keep it stable. To the mortar, add garlic, chiles, and softened palm sugar. Using a long spoon (to mix) and the pestle (to pound), pound and mix the chiles and garlic to break them up, about 10 seconds. Add two quartered pieces of Key lime, and continue pounding and mixing just enough to release juices, 10 seconds. (From this point on, pound lightly to bruise the ingredients and release flavors; do not smash.) Add shrimp; pound lightly, then mix for 5 seconds.
• Trim the long beans and slice into 2½-inch pieces; you should have about ¼ cup of long beans. Add to the mortar; pound lightly to bruise, then mix for 5 more seconds. Add papaya, fish sauce, tamarind water, and lime juice. (To make tamarind water from tamarind pulp: boil 1 cup water and 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp; let cool for 30 minutes; strain.) Use the pestle to lightly pound the salad to the bottom of the mortar, and the spoon to turn the salad over, about 1 minute. Add halved cherry tomatoes, lightly pound, then mix, 10 seconds; add peanuts and toss with the spoon. (Do not pound the peanuts, as they will release oil and make the salad greasy).
• Serve: Place cabbage wedge on the edge of a serving platter. Arrange papaya salad on platter and serve immediately.

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD

Steps:

• In a blender or mortar, blend or pound garlic, salt, peanuts, chilies, sugar and shrimp (if using) into a paste. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in lime juice and fish sauce. Use a spoon (or the mortar) to lightly crush tomatoes and beans (if using), then add to bowl and mix lightly.
• Peel and coarsely grate or shred papaya, discarding seeds and inner membrane. There should be 4 to 6 cups.
• Add papaya to bowl and lightly but thoroughly toss together. Taste for seasoning. Mound in a bowl (if desired, line bowl with lettuce leaves beforehand). Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the fish sauce and coconut sugar and cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar is melted and the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Remove from the heat and let the fish sauce syrup cool.
• Mortar and Pestle Method: Before you start throwing things in the mortar, arrange your mise en place in this order: garlic, chiles, green beans, carrot, green papaya, fish sauce syrup, lime juice, peanuts, and tomatoes. Hold the pestle in your dominant hand and a spoon in the other. Rather than pounding straight down, you're going to push the pestle down the sides of the mortar. Throw in the garlic and pound until it becomes a rough, pulpy mash. Add the chiles-pound them heavily if you prefer it spicy, or gently if you want it less spicy. Add the green beans, carrots, and green papaya, bruising lightly with the pestle and mixing with the spoon for about 10 seconds between each addition. Add the lime juice and fish sauce syrup, pound, and mix for another 10 seconds. Add the peanuts and tomatoes and repeat. Everything in the mortar other than the chiles and garlic should be bruised but intact. Don't overpound. If you want to mix a handful of other ingredients you can stir them in at this point, adjusting the seasoning as needed.
• Bowl Method: Combine the fish sauce syrup, lime juice, garlic, and chiles in a blender or food processor and blend until the garlic and chiles are totally pulverized. This is your som tum dressing and it can be refrigerated until you're ready to make the salad. In a mixing bowl, combine the papaya, carrots, and dressing. Using your hands, stir, mix, and squeeze the shredded salad to infuse the dressing and mimic the bruising of the mortar and pestle. Lightly crush the peanuts and toss in, along with the tomatoes. Transfer the salad to a plate and serve with sticky rice.