Recipe: Sabai Sabai chef Nuit Regular’s beautifully balanced papaya salad
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
Serves 2 to 4
PAPAYA SALAD
2 tbsp dried shrimp
¼ green papaya, peeled
2 limes
¼ cup fish sauce
¼ cup tamarind juice
1½ tbsp coconut sugar
1–3 Thai red bird’s-eye chilies
1 garlic clove, peeled
6 grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 string beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Thai eggplant, seeds removed, cut into pieces
2 thin slices lime
2 tbsp whole roasted peanuts
Small handful cilantro, chopped
Handful of cabbage, shredded
1. Soak shrimp in warm water for 5 minutes until soft. Shred 2 cups papaya on a mandoline.
2. Thinly slice two wheels from lime. Squeeze 2 tbsp juice from the remaining lime in a small bowl. Stir in fish sauce, tamarind juice and coconut sugar. Set aside.
3. Depending on your tolerance for heat, pound 1 to 3 chilies and garlic into a coarse paste using a mortar and pestle. Add tomatoes and beans. Lightly bruise the mixture until liquid releases and becomes a light sauce. Pour in fish sauce mixture.
4. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and toss with drained shrimp, eggplant, green papaya, sliced lime and roasted peanuts. Spoon onto a plate and sprinkle with cabbage and cilantro.
TIP
If you can’t find tamarind juice, make your own by soaking 2 tbsp tamarind pulp in ½ cup hot water. Mash it and strain, reserving the juice.