Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
This green papaya salad recipe is a quick and easy side dish or salad that I love eating during the warmer months in summer. This salad takes 10 minutes to prep and 5 minutes or less to assemble. So it is definitely a great time saver. Further I love the salad is great for all eaters – It is vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free. While I don’t have any dietary issues, eating more vegetables is something I always try to focus in my diet. In addition, I am always looking to add recipes in my collection that will suit everyone.
I learnt this recipe years ago during a cooking class that I had enrolled in during a visit to Siem Reap in Cambodia. There is something for everyone in Siem Reap – the Angkor Wat architecture amazes you, the backpacker vibe along with the luxurious hotels and spas surprises you, the poverty and scams break your heart and the food – well what can I say? The Cambodian food was something that surprised us, amazed us and shocked us all in a good way.
Table of contents
How do you make green papaya salad?
The base of this green papaya salad recipe uses crunchy vegetables. Think raw cabbage, green papaya (that is kinda raw) and long green beans. Using crunchy veg in a salad is great once it is dressed. The vegetables won’t turn soggy. If anything the acid in the dressing helps to soften the vegetables overall. Thus making this dish an excellent make ahead salad. So all I need to do is to finely chop all the raw vegetables, make the dressing and pour over. Then massage well and set aside. I like to make it in the mornings to eat it for lunch.
Key Ingredient Substitutions
Since this salad is vegan, the fish sauce is omitted that is a quintessential ingredient in South East Asian food. Instead the the umami taste is brought about via mushroom stock (See below). Hopefully all the ingredients used here are easy to source. Most Asian grocery stores or speciality food shops do stock all these ingredients nowadays. However if someone is unable to source some of the ingredients, following are the substitutes that can be used :
- Palm Sugar : Palm sugar has a rich caramel flavor that is more complex than regular cane sugar. It is made from the sap of the sugar palm tree via reducing to a syrup which is then dehydrated. An alternative to palm sugar is Jaggery that should definitely be found in Indian food stores. Otherwise I will recommend to use regular dark brown sugar mixed with water , bring to a boil and form a thick syrup.
- Mushroom Stock: If I don’t have freshly made mushroom stock on hand, then a quick cheat I use is an organic mushroom stock cube mixed in hot water. I then use the thick paste like concentrate to add to the other dressing ingredients of the green papaya salad. Another quick and easy option is to dehydrate dried mushrooms in hot water . Use the resulting water that should have a good umami taste to it.
What to do with green papayas?
Following are few recipes / ideas on how to use green papayas
- Green Papaya Salad (like the one below)
- Carry out a fermentation project – Just like you ferment sauerkraut(cabbage), beets or carrots so too can you ferment raw green papaya
- I haven’t tried this green papaya and coconut jam but it looks delicious . Definitely a good idea when there is any excess green papaya
Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or if you have any quick and easy salad recipes to share. If you like this recipe, please do leave a rating below. Don’t forget to tag #urbanfoodlover and follow along on Instagram for lots of foodie inspiration.
Also I will be sharing 2 more recipes from the cooking class – one of fresh vegetable spring rolls and the second of a Cambodian curry that totally blew me away :). So be sure to drop by again to read some more on the mouth watering food of beautiful Cambodia.
Green Papaya Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 230 grams unripe green papaya julienned peeled
- 60 grams long beans cut into 1.5 inch long segments
- 60 grams red or purple cabbage shredded
- 60 grams white cabbage shredded
- 10-12 fresh sweet basil leaves
- 60 grams chopped unsalted roasted peanuts To serve
For the Green Papaya Salad Dressing
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp mushroom stock See Notes
- 1 tsp palm sugar melted with 1 tspn water See notes
- 1 medium fresh chilli cut into thin strips
Instructions
- Mix all chopped and shredded vegetable ingredients in a mixing bowl
- Mix in the dressing ingredients separately in another bowl just before plating the salad
- Pour the dressing over the shredded veg. Mix and massage the veggies well.
- Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts and serve
Notes
- Palm Sugar : Palm sugar has a rich caramel flavor that is more complex than regular cane sugar. It is made from the sap of the sugar palm tree via reducing to a syrup which is then dehydrated. An alternative to palm sugar is Jaggery that should definitely be found in Indian food stores. Otherwise I will recommend to use regular dark brown sugar mixed with water , bring to a boil and form a thick syrup.
- Mushroom Stock: If I don’t have freshly made mushroom stock on hand, then a quick cheat I use is an organic mushroom stock cube mixed in hot water. I then use the thick paste like concentrate to add to the other dressing ingredients of the green papaya salad. Another quick and easy option is to dehydrate dried mushrooms in hot water . Use the resulting water that should have a good umami taste to it.