By Ms. Taste
The tantalising yet refreshing flavours of Paw Paw Salad is a specialty across South East Asia, with many variations – from the vibrant Vietnamese version topped with prawn and pork to the Laotian version which is intensely spicy.
I’ve seen Mr. Taste’s aunts prepare the Laotian version, which is heavily reliant on a mortar and pestle to grind the flavours out of the garlic and chilli bulbs. The paw paw strands are also thinner and are drenched in sauce. The Vietnamese version I’ve had in restaurants is more like a salad, with varying textures and flavours.
When it came to making my own, I merged the best of the two versions together. The recipe below has been adapted from the SBS Food website.
Ingredients
Salad
1 green papaya, peeled & finely julienne
4 carrots, peeled & finely julienne
200 g cooked medium tiger prawns, peeled, de-veined
5 green mint leaves, finely sliced
5 Asian basil leaves, finely sliced
5 perilla leaf leaves, finely sliced
5 coriander leaves, finely sliced
3 tablespoons dipping fish sauce
1 chilli, sliced
1 tablespoon crushed roasted peanuts (optional)
½ teaspoon fried garlic chips (optional)
Dipping sauce
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
125 ml water
2 garlic cloves
4 chillies, chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
Method
1. To make the fish dipping sauce, combine fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and water into a saucepan and place on medium heat. Stir well and cook until just before boiling point is reached, then allow to cool. To serve, finely chop the garlic and chilli and stir through with the lime juice. Makes 250 ml.
2. Carefully julienne the green papaya and toss together with the carrots. A nifty tool to have in the kitchen is the Kitchen Expert by Davis & Waddell. It not only peels, slices, scrapes, scoops but also juliennes.
3. In a large bowl combine the green papaya, sliced herbs, dipping fish sauce and mix well.
4. Turn out onto a serving platter and arrange the prawns on top of the green papaya salad. Garnish with shallots, peanuts and chilli (optional).
