Christine's Green Papaya Salad

I am in LOVE (obsessed?) 💘 with this salad and will order it whenever I see it on a menu.  Mostly at home here I find the Vietnamese version, but I have been fortunate to try Andy Ricker's Pok Pok Thai version as well.  I made my own take on it today.  But first, here are pics of three versions I've consumed while dining out: 

Phnom Penh restaurant Vancouver:  It wasn't spicy enough for me, but I did enjoy it nonetheless. Shrimp, fresh crunchy green papaya, mint leaves, cilantro, shredded carrots, toasted peanuts, crumbled beef jerky.

House Special restaurant Vancouver:  Vegan Papaya Salad + Crispy Yuba

Crispy bean curd skin, herbs, Vietnamese pickles, and peanuts on shredded green papaya; sweet soya vinaigrette — I loved this version

Papaya Pok Pok (Vegas)

Spicy green papaya salad with peanuts, tomatoes, Thai chilies, long beans, dried

shrimp, garlic, palm sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and tamarind.  (that's cabbage on the left)

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This post will be following along with how I did on my first try.  I had company coming over and had a LOT going on (this was just the opening starter), so the time and care I might normally do (mortar & pestle, palm sugar, etc.), I didn't.  I tried to make it easier on myself.  I found the papaya in Chinatown.  It was about $5.  When I bought the rest of the Asian ingredients, I saw that "T&T" supermarket had them too.  They keep these in a cooler, not with the ripe, sweet papayas.  Green papaya is simply "unripe".

• 2.5 lb green papaya, peeled, and julienned.  I used this new gadget I bought to do the job and then soaked the papaya in ice water
• 1 red birds-eye Thai chili (my company would not want this salad too hot or I would have used 2 if making for myself), sliced finely
• 2 garlic cloves, minced through press
• 4 limes, halved and juiced (2 limes zested)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons "Red Boat" fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons bottled Nuoc Cham
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimp, chopped finely
• 1 vine of premium cherry tomatoes, blistered in EVOO in cast iron pan
• 10 Chinese long beans, washed, ends trimmed, cut in 2 inch pieces and pounded lightly with pestle till broken
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• Handful of  fresh Thai basil, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, lightly crushed in ziploc with mallet, for garnish
• 1/2 cup of crispy fried shallots, for garnish

After I bought all the ingredients from the Asian market, this salad ended up costing me about $50 to make!  I didn't even have to buy the expensive fish sauce I use.  I hoped it would turn out great. 😊 🤞  I decided to use my blender to make the dressing.  I was lucky I had my glasses on because when squeezing a lime it squirted right at my eye and one eyeglass was covered in lime juice!

It was the lime juice, zest, garlic, dried shrimp, fish sauce, sugar, nuoc cham and the sliced red chili.  Come to think about it, I think I should have chopped and put the dried shrimp in the salad...oh well, too late now...

I made it a day ahead and left it in the fridge, in a small jar.  The chili was present but it wasn't too spicy by any means.  For me, like I said, I would have liked one more in there.  The fish taste was strong - or was it the dried shrimp?  I don't find the "Red Boat" fish sauce funky at all - I've used it for years.  I'd leave out the Nuoc Cham next time and serve it on the side instead.  I would also just put those shrimps directly in the salad too, chopped finely though.  Anyway, I would see how it was after it sat overnight.

OK, next day I tasted and I thought it was balanced and not bad. I washed my papaya and used a Y-shaped peeler to skin it.  I prayed for white flesh as this had been in my fridge for 4 days now...

It was good, very crisp still.  The new tool worked like a hot damn!  I shredded strips until the papaya turned into a hollow log.  When it started to break through to the seeds, I stopped shredding and went around till done.

I soaked it in ice water for a half hour.

I blistered the cherry tomatoes...

I went to work with the long beans.  They are longer than my microwave!  I've never used these before but you can eat them raw so that is what I did.

I washed them, trimmed the ends and cut into 2 inch pieces.  I got my pestle out and crushed them until they were split so the dressing could seep inside.

And then I chopped the cilantro and Thai basil.  I got a clean towel and drained/dried all the papaya best I could.  Then everyone into the pool, and I mixed, and I mixed and then I mixed some more...

I covered with wrap and put it into the fridge until it was time to serve.  When it was, I put some crushed peanuts and crispy shallots on top.

Company and son LOVED this!  Multiple textures and tastes and in harmony.  They all drank the dressing out of the bowl, so I'd say they liked it.  Very, very tasty.  Everyone said it was fresh and reminded them of summer.  Everything came together perfectly, except being short one Thai chili pepper.  😉