Green Papaya Salad Recipe

This green papaya salad recipe comes with some soy sauce and groundnut dressing, cashew nuts for topping, and a spicy groundnut powder on the side. Let’s take a look at how it’s made.

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

For the Salad

Unripe or slightly ripe but very firm papaya, 5-6 inches in length: 1
Carrot – 6 inches long 1
Capsicum/Bell pepper 1

For the Dressing

Soy sauce: 2 tablespoons
Rice vinegar: 3 tablespoons
Brown cane sugar: 3 tablespoons
Lime juice: 1/2 Lime
Cashew pieces: 1/2 cup
Coarsely ground black pepper : 1 teaspoon

For the Topping

Roasted cashew nuts: 1/2 cup
Sweet basil leaves, cut into half (or coriander leaves): 1/4 cup

For the Spicy Groundnut Powder (optional)

Roasted groundnuts: 1/2 cup
Brown cane sugar: 1 teaspoon
Black pepper powder: 1 teaspoon
Salt: 1/2 teaspoon

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Directions:

  • Peel the papaya with a vegetable peeler, seed it and shred it into thin strands, or cut it into thin matchsticks about 2 inches in length.
  • Peel and then shred the carrot or cut it into 2-inch-long matchsticks. Add to the papaya.
  • Cut the capsicum into about 2-inch-long pieces, but slightly thicker than the carrots.
  • Toss the cut papaya, carrot, capsicum, and basil in a large bowl.
  • For the optional spicy groundnut powder, coarsely grind the roasted groundnuts, sugar, black pepper powder, and salt in a mixer. Set aside.
  • To make the salad dressing, puree the roasted groundnuts, soya sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ground black pepper, lime juice, and oil in a mixer until it forms a paste.
  • Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss again. Avoid over-mixing.
  • Just before serving, sprinkle the toasted cashew nuts on the salad (so they remain crunchy).
  • Sprinkle the spicy groundnut powder on individually plated salad to kick it up a notch.

And that’s it for the green papaya salad recipe. Hope you enjoy it!

Papaya Facts

Papain, an enzyme in papaya, is used to treat pain, swelling, inflammation, various skin diseases, and wounds. It also aids digestion and destroys intestinal parasites.

Papaya seeds have anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, and analgesic properties, and can therefore be found in a number of traditional medicinal remedies.

Mashed papaya can be used to treat sore and cracked heels.

Editor's Note: This article is based on an excerpt from the April 2014 issue of Forest Flower.