Papaya Salad

i  ate experienced this for the first time at a friends wedding and it was absolutely spectacular. they had a variety of foreign food at the reception so you can be be assured that i was in all my glory. [as if it had anything to do with me..:)] one of the dishes offered was this beautiful mix of ingredients called Papaya Salad. it is a common street food, easily accessible in both Vietnam and Thailand. it is blend of the freshest ingredients, sweet and tangy, savory as well, with the perfect balance of spiciness and texture. my taste buds exploded and i thought to myself as i went up for seconds and thirds, i HAVE to learn how to make this.

Lucky for me, it is really quite simple. a quick grind in the ol' mortar and pestle, a little dance with your fingers, and effortlessly plated up, ready to eat. there are plenty of different versions out there, so feel free to play around with your own personal flavor profiles..that is what i did:)

i will move on to the recipe.
enjoy.


you'll need:
1 whole green papaya, skin removed carefully, white part julienned, or shredded
1 small bunch of green onion, finely chopped on the diagonal, both white and green parts
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp crushed red pepper [more or less to monitor heat]
1 thumb size of fresh ginger
2 whole cloves of garlic
rice noodles 
1/4 cup crushed peanuts

first things first, take a small bunch of dry rice noodles and soak them in a pan with warm water. set aside.

in the mortar, pour in brown sugar, fish sauce, sesame oil, a small bunch of the cilantro, red pepper, ginger, and garlic. crush and pound with pestle to make a pasty sauce. 

in a medium size glass bowl, toss shredded papaya, green onion, and rest of cilantro leaves. 

pour mortar of prepared sauce and drizzle over salad. thouroughly coat everything.

on a plate, take tongs and take a scoop of prepared soft rice noodles onto plate, swirrling into a nest shape. top with papaya salad.

sprinkle crushed peanuts on top.

eat.