I love recipes that transport me back to a place in time… this simple papaya salad recipe was taught to me in Hanoi, Vietnam by a lady called Madam Tuyet who did a show with Anthony Bourdain back in the day….super simple, crazy tasty !
Simply shred one green papaya and one carrot as shown in the video and then add to this a handful of shredded mint, coriander and basil. If you can get Thai basil all the better but if not then don’t sweat it as regular basil will still add a great fragrant flavour.
To these basics layer your salad up a bit further by adding crushed toasted cashews, crispy fried shallots and garlic slices and then splosh on some dressing.
I used 3 parts rice vinegar, to three parts fish sauce to one part fresh lime with a good pinch of sugar too. If this is too pungent for you then add a dash of water as well.
Dress the salad just before serving and then add a few more shallots, garlic chips and cashews on top with as much fresh chilli as you can handle and you’re good to go !
(this is a vegetarian version but if you want to add meet try some sliced pork belly, prawns or both. If you don’t have them to hand then put in some fried bacon bits,,,there are no rules!)
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