Content

• Ingredients
• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Grind the spices
• Part 2 of 3: Stir and Season the Salad
• Part 3 of 3: Recipe Variations
• What do you need
• Tips
• Warnings

Papaya salad, known in Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia as a salad catfish thereis a traditional side dish made from green papaya, vegetables and herbs, as well as a considerable amount of spices. Its fresh and rich taste will please even the most discerning eaters. Most importantly, this salad is a healthy food, easy and quick to prepare.

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 medium green papaya (finely chopped or chopped into strips)
• 1 large carrot (finely chopped)
• 1 cup (100 grams) raw bean sprouts
• 10-12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/4 cup (25 grams) finely chopped shallots
• 2–3 fresh cilantro sprigs, cut into pieces or strips
• 2-3 fresh sprigs of Thai basil, cut into pieces or strips

Spices (ground)

• 1/2 cup (75 grams) asparagus or green beans
• 4-5 birdseye or serrano chili peppers
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon (10 grams) dried shrimp
• 1/2 cup (175 grams) raw peanuts (crushed or minced)

Refueling

• 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 milliliters) Thai fish sauce
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) lime juice
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) palm or light brown sugar

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Grind the spices

1. 1 Prepare your ingredients. First, you need to decompose all the spices that you use in the salad. These include dried shrimp, garlic, peanuts, asparagus beans (you can use green beans instead) and chili peppers. In a traditional papaya salad, dry ingredients are pounded in a mortar with a pestle before being added to a mixture of fresh fruits and vegetables.
   • Look for rarer ingredients like dried shrimp and Thai fish sauce at an Asian grocery store.
2. 2 Prepare a pestle and mortar or large bowl. To obtain the desired taste and consistency, dry ingredients must not only be chopped and mixed, but properly suppressed. It is best to use a mortar and pestle for this. If you don't have a mortar and pestle on hand, you can put the dry ingredients in a large bowl and cover them with the bottom of a wide spoon.
   • The peanuts are quite hard, so it is best to pre-chop them with a knife if you are not using a mortar and pestle.
   • The traditional catfish salad there is often prepared in the same mortar.
3. 3 Squeeze the ingredients down to release their scent. Take dry ingredients and crush them with a pestle or spoon until they soften but retain their integrity.The purpose of this process is to release the flavor of the ingredients and grind them to the correct size and texture, but not completely mix. It is best to crush dry shrimp, garlic, beans, peanuts, and chili separately.
   • Try not to grind dry ingredients too much. You should end up with a rather coarse juicy mixture.
   • If you want to save time or prefer a more uniform consistency, you can lightly grind the dry ingredients in a food processor until they are sized to the correct size.
4. 4 Combine the ground ingredients. After you lightly grind the dry ingredients, combine them in a separate bowl. It is best to keep them separate from papaya and other vegetables until you start stirring the salad. This will keep the salad fresh and crispy and will retain the flavor of each ingredient.
   • When you mix dry ingredients, their flavors will start to mix.

Part 2 of 3: Stir and Season the Salad

1. 1 Prepare papaya. For a salad of catfish, you should use a green (plucked just before ripening) papaya, chopped into thin straws the size of a match. When shopping, look for pre-cut green papaya. This will save you a lot of time and won't have much of an impact on the fresh taste of the salad, as unripe papaya is quite dry. If you can't find any pre-cut papaya, you can shred it yourself or use a kitchen shredder.
   • Take a close look at the papaya fruit before buying it. It should have a deep green color and be hard, almost unyielding to the touch.
   • If you are using whole fresh papaya, you need to remove the pit before cutting.
   • You can also shred the papaya using a regular kitchen grater, although this will make the pieces a little smaller and thinner.
2. 2 Chop up other vegetables. Cut the tomatoes in half or quarters. Chop or chop carrots. Chop the shallots. Chop Thai basil and cilantro finely or cut into thin strips. Bean sprouts can be left intact or cut into smaller pieces. Add the chopped vegetables to the chopped papaya and stir by hand.
   • The papaya will form the base of the salad, and the rest of the vegetables will add extra flavor and texture.
3. 3 Prepare a dressing. Place lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce and salt in a separate bowl and stir until smooth. Try a dressing and make sure it fits. In a properly prepared papaya salad, all flavors (sweet, salty, tart, savory, and pungent) should be presented in the same way.
   • Add fish sauce for flavor. This sauce has a very specific flavor, and in a properly prepared salad it should be combined with and complement other flavors. Be careful: too much fish sauce can overwhelm the taste of other foods.
4. 4 Stir and serve salad. Add dry ingredients to papaya, carrots, shallots, bean sprouts and herbs. Pour the dressing over the salad. Stir the salad so that all ingredients and dressing are evenly distributed over it. Sprinkle chopped peanuts, cilantro, or basil on top of the salad if you like. Bon Appetit!
   • Papaya salad keeps well in the refrigerator. It can stay fresh for up to three days, although the acid in the dressing may soften it slightly.
   • This recipe is for 3-4 servings.
5. 5 Ready!

Part 3 of 3: Recipe Variations

1. 1 Replace papaya with other vegetables. Papaya, especially unripe (this is what is needed for catfish salad there), is not easy to find in many regions. If you find papaya difficult to find, simply replace it with kohlrabi, other cabbage, daikon radish, or cucumbers. All these vegetables have the necessary texture, and when cut, they will perfectly absorb the hot sauce.
   • When replacing papaya with other vegetables, make sure they are not too ripe and hard.
   • You can also add mild melons such as cantaloupe for flavor.
2. 2 You can use salt instead of fish sauce. If you're vegan or don't like fish sauce, add a little salt to your dressing instead. You can also use some white vinegar to give the dressing the desired liquid consistency. The main purpose of the fish sauce is to add a salty, tangy flavor - a similar effect that can be easily achieved with other ingredients that are more pleasing to you.
   • It is not recommended to use other salty condiments, such as soy sauce, as they will overpower the flavor of the salad.
3. 3 Sweeten the salad with brown sugar. In the cuisines of Southeast Asia and Malaysia, palm sugar is traditionally used as a sweet ingredient, but it is not available everywhere, and to strangers it may taste a little strange. Fortunately, it can be replaced with light brown sugar. This sugar is sweet and slightly coarse, and dissolves well in lime juice and makes it thicker.
   • If you want to compensate for the hotness of the chili, you can do so with sugar.
4. 4 Try your own variations. Since the components of the catfish salad are prepared separately and mixed in the later stages, various modifications can be easily made to it. Find the right amount of herbs and spices, or try adding your favorite vegetables to your salad. For example, you can reduce the amount of chili peppers or not add them at all so that the salad is less pungent. The options are truly endless!
   • For a richer version of the salad, sprinkle fried fresh shrimp, beef, or chicken over the top instead of dried shrimp.

What do you need

• Mortar and pestle (or bowl and large spoon)
• Food processor (optional)
• Sharp knife
• Serving dish

Tips

• Don't add too much salt if you are using fish sauce, as it is quite salty on its own.
• Place the salad on a separate platter, or place it next to the glutinous rice and grilled marinated meats.
• Add a couple of drops of tangerine juice to the dressing for a brighter taste.
• Better to use small, thin-skinned tomatoes such as cherry or rum. Other varieties may be too soft and juicy for such a crispy salad.
• To add more flavor to the chili, suppress it to a finer consistency.

Warnings

• Try a ready-made salad and make sure it works out. A salad with such a set of flavoring components is easy to spoil - it is enough to add too much of one ingredient to upset the overall balance.
• Add chili peppers in small portions. If the salad is not spicy enough, you can always add more pepper, but if you add too much of it, you will no longer be able to reduce the spiciness of the salad.