Papaya salad

Step by Step

Step 1

Begin by shredding the papaya. Use a sharp vegetable peeler to peel the papaya skin and discard. Then, use the vegetable peeler to peel long strips of papaya into a large bowl. Peel off strips until you have about 3 cups of papaya peels. You may not use the whole papaya. Store the rest of the papaya in the refrigerator for other use. Set papaya strips aside until later.

Step 2

Place dried shrimp, Thai chili peppers, 2 cloves of garlic, shrimp paste, and Thai chili peppers into a papaya pot or a large deep bowl. Smash all ingredients together with a large wooden pestle or the end of a thick wooden spoon for 2 minutes just until they’re soft. (This helps the flavors spread)

Step 3

Add cherry tomatoes, Som Tam powder, papaya salad sauce, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and shredded papaya. Smash and mix everything together with the pestle, making sure shredded papaya is coated in the sauce (be careful not to get any in your eye on this part).

Step 4

Taste your papaya salad. Add more of anything else you think you might need.

Step 5

Serve and enjoy.

Tips and Warnings

Feel free to change this recipe to your liking. If you’d like, you can adjust your papaya salad to be more sweet by adding more sugar. If you want it more sour, add more lime juice.
You can eat papaya salad with anything. Papaya salad is a side dish that pairs well with anything from sticky rice to steak, chicken or pork.
Papaya salad is sometimes served with cabbage or lettuce. Pachee likes to roll her papaya salad in cabbage and eat it like an egg roll. Adds a nice crunch and freshness!