Mexican Green Papaya Salad Recipes

Steps:

• Blend cilantro, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, brown sugar, chili powder, and salt in a blender until smooth.
• Toss shredded papaya, black beans, corn, and red bell pepper together in a large mixing bowl; add dressing and toss to coat.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Steps:

• For the lime vinaigrette: In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil, mirin, fish sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, lime zest and juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
• For the salad: Add the rice to a dry cast-iron skillet set over medium heat and toast, stirring frequently, until nutty and fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Place the rice in a spice grinder and pulse until finely ground (the size of kosher salt). Set aside.
• Heat the sesame oil in a saute pan over high heat. Add the green beans and cook until well charred on the outside, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. (The beans should still be almost raw in the middle so they remain crunchy.) Place the cherry tomatoes in the same pan and lightly char; transfer to the plate with the beans and let cool. Cut the tomatoes in half (it's okay if they get a little smashed), and cut the beans into 2-inch-long pieces.
• In a large bowl, combine the green beans, tomatoes, mung beans, red onions, scallions, papayas, Thai bird chiles, red peppers, cucumbers, basil, mint, pepitas, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pinch of pepper. Drizzle with the lime vinaigrette and mix well. Transfer the salad to a large serving platter and garnish with the toasted ground rice (for fragrance and a crunchy texture).

Steps:

• Combine garlic, chiles, and green beans into a mortar and pound roughly. Add the papaya and pound again, to bruise the ingredients. Stir in fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar and pound again. Ad the tomato and pound to combine. Stir in the chopped peanuts and serve.
• If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can make a version of this in your blender or food processor: coarsely chop the garlic, chile peppers, and green beans. Mix in the papaya, and pulse a few times. Mix in the tomato, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Pulse to combine; salad should still have texture. Transfer to a serving dish and stir in the peanuts.

Steps:

• In a blender or mortar, blend or pound garlic, salt, peanuts, chilies, sugar and shrimp (if using) into a paste. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in lime juice and fish sauce. Use a spoon (or the mortar) to lightly crush tomatoes and beans (if using), then add to bowl and mix lightly.
• Peel and coarsely grate or shred papaya, discarding seeds and inner membrane. There should be 4 to 6 cups.
• Add papaya to bowl and lightly but thoroughly toss together. Taste for seasoning. Mound in a bowl (if desired, line bowl with lettuce leaves beforehand). Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the fish sauce and coconut sugar and cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar is melted and the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Remove from the heat and let the fish sauce syrup cool.
• Mortar and Pestle Method: Before you start throwing things in the mortar, arrange your mise en place in this order: garlic, chiles, green beans, carrot, green papaya, fish sauce syrup, lime juice, peanuts, and tomatoes. Hold the pestle in your dominant hand and a spoon in the other. Rather than pounding straight down, you're going to push the pestle down the sides of the mortar. Throw in the garlic and pound until it becomes a rough, pulpy mash. Add the chiles-pound them heavily if you prefer it spicy, or gently if you want it less spicy. Add the green beans, carrots, and green papaya, bruising lightly with the pestle and mixing with the spoon for about 10 seconds between each addition. Add the lime juice and fish sauce syrup, pound, and mix for another 10 seconds. Add the peanuts and tomatoes and repeat. Everything in the mortar other than the chiles and garlic should be bruised but intact. Don't overpound. If you want to mix a handful of other ingredients you can stir them in at this point, adjusting the seasoning as needed.
• Bowl Method: Combine the fish sauce syrup, lime juice, garlic, and chiles in a blender or food processor and blend until the garlic and chiles are totally pulverized. This is your som tum dressing and it can be refrigerated until you're ready to make the salad. In a mixing bowl, combine the papaya, carrots, and dressing. Using your hands, stir, mix, and squeeze the shredded salad to infuse the dressing and mimic the bruising of the mortar and pestle. Lightly crush the peanuts and toss in, along with the tomatoes. Transfer the salad to a plate and serve with sticky rice.

Steps:

• Bring brown sugar, vinegar, and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, whisking to dissolve sugar; let cool. Whisk in soy sauce, chili paste, and sesame oil. Set aside.
• Cook shallots and vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until shallots are golden brown and crisp, 10-12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and season with salt. Let cool.
• Toss papaya and dressing in a large bowl. Let sit, tossing occasionally, 15 minutes. Add cilantro and basil; toss to combine. Top with fried shallots.