Green papaya salad is an excellent summer salad. There are many versions with many ways for making it but they all taste the same. Depending on your taste buds. And how much heat can you take. I’m talking about spicy. I have volunteered my sister Tina to make her version of the green papaya salad Hmong style. Very spicy by the way. Making me salivating just thinking about it.

Severing size 4-5 people

Prep Time 20 mins Total time 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 medium green papaya
• 2 TBSP fish sauce
• 1 TBSP of crab paste
• 1 TSP of sugar
• 2 Thai chili peppers (for spicier add up to 4 or more if you’re brave use more)
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 TBSP of peanut butter or peanuts (optional) some people are allergic to nuts
• 1 TSP salt
• 1 lemon or 2 limes or 2 TBSP of tamarind paste (add more to taste)

Directions.

Start peeling your green papaya. When done cut your papaya in half, long way, scoop out all the seeds. Then use a hand shredder or a cheese grater to shred the papaya into strings. Cut the papaya into quarters of it get difficult to shred.

Peel the garlic if it needed.

In a mortar add the Thai chili pepper, garlic, and peanuts (if it is not peanut butter) together pound or smashed ingredients with a pestle until it’s all the ingredients are smashed together well. Paste-like substance.

Add the roma tomatoes, peanut butter (if you didn’t use whole roasted peanuts), shrimp paste, and tamarind paste. Mix well in the mortar. Bruise the roma tomatoes with the pestle.

Add a handful and a half of shredded papaya into the sauce you just made, add the fish sauce, salt, and sugar.

Squeeze half lime into the mortar. I like mine a little sour. Some likes them sweet, preferences.

Use the pestle to pound everything together at the same time fold the ingredients with a spoon for better mixture and more pounding.

Once the papaya looked bruised but not smashed. Taste it. To see what else you should add. This is an add to taste dish.

Voila green papaya salad Hmong style. Enjoy!