Papaya Salad
Here's one of my all-time favourite things to eat - Papaya Salad - a curious mixture of fruit, vegetables, spices and condiments.
But it works like a dream - and will send your taste buds into orbit.
Papaya Salad
Ingredients
2 medium sized papayas - ripe but not too soft
1 bag of fresh bean sprouts
1 red pepper
1 good sized carrot
1 red onion
1 handful of chopped coriander
1 handful of chopped mint
1 thumbsized piece of fresh ginger - finely chopped
3 or 4 garlic cloves - minced or finely chopped
6 or 8 cherry tomatoes
1 big handful of crushed peanuts
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of one lime or lemon
3 or four tablespoons of fish sauce
1 or 2 pinches of sugar
Fresh chili, chilli powder or chili sauce to taste - don't be a wuss - remember that Thai dishes are supposed to be hot and spicy
Method
Make the dressing first of all by mixing together the ginger, garlic, fish sauce, chopped herbs, lime/lemon juice - be careful with salt because the fish sauce is quite salty - the aim is to create a dressing which is hot and spicy, sweet and our - with the savoury taste of the fish sauce just coming out on top over all the rest.
Leave the dressing to sit for 20 minutes to let the flavours develop.
Slice the papyas into strips, and finely slice the carrot, red pepper and red onion into matchstick size pieces - you could also add things like cucumber, if you want.
Chop or bash the tomatoes into quite small but not fine pieces, bash up the peanuts but leave a few whole ones.
Mix everything togther in a bowl - and serve on a nice plate for best effect.
Sprinkle some of the fresh herbs and peanuts on the top to round it all off.
