Daily Food

Papaya Salad

When picking your papaya for this salad, just make sure you’re choosing a green, very unripe fruit. And no worries if you’ve got shreds of different thicknesses! That rustic and organic variation will contribute to fun textures in every bite, and we’ll pound them all until tender anyway.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. palm or granulated sugar
Zest of ½ lime
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 to 3 bird's eye chiles, thinly sliced
1/4 c. roasted peanuts, plus more for garnish
2 tbsp. fish sauce
3 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. balacan (optional)
2 c. shredded green papaya (from ⅓ medium papaya) 
1/2 c. chopped long beans or green beans
1/2 c. grape tomatoes, halved
Romaine lettuce, for serving

Directions

Step 1
In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon or a rolling pin to pound sugar, lime zest, garlic, chiles, and peanuts until peanuts are roughly crushed. Whisk in fish sauce, lime juice, and balacan, if using.

Step 2
Add papaya and beans, and continue pounding until bruised and softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and pound until combined.

Step 3
Serve salad on lettuce.