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Recipe

Thai Green Papaya Salad

At the Moku’u Farmers Market south of Hilo, Hawaii, a long line snakes from a little booth where a woman makes the best green papaya salad I have ever tasted.

Green Papaya Salad at Paradise Farmers Market Hawaii Green Papaya Salad, Paradise Farmers Market, South of Hilo, Hawaii

People wait patiently and often order 3 or 4 servings to take home. No one seems to mind the long wait, in part because it is mesmerizing to watch the chef as she pounds and mixes the salad. It is not difficult to make at home but it can be hard to find the green papaya; your best bet is an Asian market. There are many traditional versions of green papaya salad and nearly all include dried shrimp, which you also can find in Asian markets. Clay mortars are inexpensive and have the right shape and capacity for making this salad. If you do not have one, a large Japanese suribachi will also work well. In a pinch, use a large stainless steel mixing bowl and a French rolling pin.

The salad is made in a deep clay mortar.

The salad is made in a deep clay mortar.

  • Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 6 to 8 Thai chiles, each cut into 3 or 4 pieces
  • 8 garlic cloves, each cut into 2 or 3 pieces
  • 2 tablespoons small dried shrimp
  • 1 cup cut (1 ½-inch pieces) long beans or green beans
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 4 cups julienned green papaya
  • ⅓ cup fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce, plus more to taste
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons palm sugar, thinned with 1 tablespoon water
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
  • ¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts

Directions

  1. Put the chiles and garlic into a large mortar, preferably one made of clay, and pound into a paste.

  2. If the mortar is small, work in two batches.

  3. Add the shrimp and beans and pound with the pestle to bruise them. Stir well so that the shrimp and beans absorb the flavors of the garlic and chiles.

  4. Add the cherry tomatoes and pound lightly

  5. Add the papaya, pound lightly and stir thoroughly.

  6. Add the lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar and toss the ingredients together, pounding a bit with the pestle, as well.

  7. Taste and adjust the acid and salt with more lime juice and more fish sauce as needed.

  8. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts and serve.

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