This Green Papaya Salad with Prawns has the perfect balance of spicy, sweet and sour. Just like the ones we get in Thai restaurants
When the craving hits, make your own!
Salad is something I rarely order when I’m eating out unless I’m dieting. So for me to order a salad, it has to be a ‘kick-ass’ salad. This Green Papaya Salad must kick-ass big time because I love ordering it when I visit Thai restaurants.
I’m absolutely crazy about this salad and often crave it. Who would think? Out of all people, me craving a salad? Yes, it actually happens! This is because it’s no ordinary salad. You name it; it has it, spicy, sweet, sour, salty and savoury all beautifully balanced in one delicious salad. My mouth just watered when I wrote that.
Leave it to the Thais to create a glorious tasting dish using bland tasting green papaya, and this is why I’m totally obsessed with Thai cuisine. Check out these amazing Thai recipes I’ve simplified and recreated at home:
Thai Chicken and Pumpkin Stir-fry
This traditional tasting Green Papaya Salad is healthy and low in calories. Perfect to serve with grilled fish, pork or beef but my favourite way is to have it is with freshly cooked prawns and rice. Thai restaurants usually list this salad on their starter menu, but I like to have mine as a main with hot steamed rice because it’s delicious and filling.
A recipe that’ll give you a good workout
In a dish that is huge on flavours with depth, you’re probably expecting an entire list of exotic ingredients, but there isn’t. Funny enough, the hardest ingredient that I had to source was the main one, green papaya.
I almost gave up on recreating this recipe after visiting the 5th Asian grocery store with a moody toddler. There were plenty of ripe yellow papayas EVERYWHERE, but no green ones. Then intelligent me, thought to myself, ‘maybe they’re not in season’. Um, where’s your logic, Cat?! If they’re not in season, then why are there ripe papayas everywhere? I almost broke out into a dance when I finally found some in an Asian grocery store a few suburbs away from us.
Dried shrimps are the secret ingredient in this Green Papaya Salad, and unlike the green papaya, they were easy to find.
These dried prawns are salty and savoury. Just like prawn paste, it adds depth and complexity to Asian dishes but without a pungent smell. There are a few other special ingredients in this recipe, but all were simple to find. I’ve explained these ingredients in further detail below.
You’ll need a mortar and pestle and some elbow grease. Trust me, I am against labour intensive recipes, and I tried looking for shortcuts but it ended up taking longing and causing me more grief. Let’s think positive, you’ll end up with massive biceps that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger jealous. Also, pounding the mortar and pestle after a bad day may be quite therapeutic.
To take the stress of preparing everything at one time, the papaya, prawns and roasted nuts and dressing can be prepared a day in advance. Just place them in separate airtight containers and store them in the fridge.
Ingredients for Green Papaya Salad with Prawns
Freshly cooked prawns – I used large, freshly cooked Tiger Prawns. Freshly cooked prawns should look plump with glossy shells. Large raw prawns would work too, just fry them on each side with a small amount of oil just until they turn opaque and orange.
Green papaya is a young papaya that hasn’t ripened yet. Its texture is a little crunchy and has a bland taste. South-East Asians use green papaya in their salads, soup and curries. I had difficulties finding green papaya, but eventually found some in a Vietnamese grocery store.
Dried shrimp (prawns) – Never judge a book by its cover because these little shrimps are a flavour bomb. Just like shrimp paste, it adds loads of savoury goodness and complexity to a dish. These were easy to find at my local Asian grocery.
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Palm sugar – Using anything made from palm trees is controversial because of the environmental impact. Heavy harvesting of palm trees in Southeast Asia has left many orangutans homeless. The good news is palm sugar is made from the sap of the coconut palm tree, so there’s no need to harvest the tree, which means it’s sustainable. Supermarkets or Asian grocery stores sell palm sugar, however, be sure to grab the good stuff. The ingredients listed should be 100% palm sugar for that beautiful caramel flavour.
Fish sauce – My favourite brand is Thai ‘Squid’ fish sauce, but any brand of fish sauce will work. It’s sold at supermarkets in the International section or at an Asian grocery store. Fish sauce is pungent with a strong fish smell but adds wonderful flavours to Asian cuisines.
Snake beans – Like their name, these beans are stringy and long. They’re usually sold in bunches tied together. I got mine from an Asian grocer, but I’ve seen them sold at my local fruit and veggie grocer. If you’re unable to find them, swap them for regular green beans.
How to make Green Papaya Salad with Prawns
Step-by-step guide with photos
Place the peanuts in a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Stir and cook the peanuts until they’re golden and aromatic. Transfer the peanuts into a small bowl and set them aside for later.
Slice the tip and end of the papaya, then use a vegetable peeler to remove its skin. Cut the papaya in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Use a shredder (I got mine at an Asian shop) or mandoline to shred the papaya into thin long strips. Remove as much flesh as possible until it reaches the seed. Place the shredded papaya into a bowl and set aside for later.
For the sauce – In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce and lime juice. Peel the prawns, devein them and slice them lengthwise (horizontally) in half. Set the sauce and prawns aside for later.
For the chilli shrimp paste – Place the dried shrimps into a food processor and blitz until the prawns resemble fine breadcrumbs, then transfer the dried shrimps to a mortar bowl. In the same processor bowl (no need to clean first), place the garlic and chillies and pulse until finely minced, then add it to the mortar bowl along with the shrimps. Pound the ingredients together with the pestle until it forms a paste. Spoon the paste into a large bowl. There’s no need to clean the mortar before pounding the palm sugar.
Our green papaya salad is almost done
Place the palm sugar into the mortar bowl. Break the palm sugar with the pestle into large pieces. The sugar is quite sticky, so add a few tablespoons of sauce and continue to pound and grind (adding the sauce will help the sugar dissolve). Continue adding tablespoons of sauce in between grinding until it’s finished. There should be no lumps of palm sugar remaining.
For the dressing – Pour the palm sugar mixture into the large bowl with the chilli shrimp paste and give it a good mix.
Place the beans into the mortar and pound it a few times and crush the beans slightly, then remove to a small bowl, and do the same with the roasted peanuts.
Add the papaya, prawns, tomatoes, snake beans, and peanuts into the large bowl with the dressing and give it a good mix. Optional – Display some prawns on the top of the salad and garnish with Thai basil leaves, chilli and peanuts.
Leftovers – This salad is best served immediately. However, if there are leftovers, store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll be good for a couple of days.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Green Papaya Salad with Prawns
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted roasted peanuts
- 500 gm green/young papaya (shredded) (NOTE 1)
- 500 gm cooked large prawns with shell (NOTE 2)
- 1 cup grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes, halved)
- 1½ cup snake beans (approx. 3cm/1.2in slices) (NOTE 3)
- Thai basil leaves (optional)
For the dressing
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- ⅓ cup fish sauce (NOTE 4)
- 6 cloves garlic
- ½ cup dried shrimp (NOTE 5)
- 4-6 small red chillies (Thai or Birds eye chillies – adjust amount to taste)
- 150 gm palm sugar (roughly chopped) (NOTE 6)
Instructions
- Place the peanuts in a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Stir and cook the peanuts until they're golden and aromatic. Transfer the peanuts into a small bowl and set them aside for later.
- Slice the tip and end of the papaya, then use a vegetable peeler to remove its skin. Cut the papaya in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Use a shredder (I got mine at an Asian shop) or mandoline to shred the papaya into thin long strips. Remove as much flesh as possible until it reaches the seed. Place the shredded papaya into a bowl and set aside for later.
- For the sauce – In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce and lime juice. Peel the prawns, devein them and slice them lengthwise (horizontally) in half. Set the sauce and prawns aside for later.
- For the chilli shrimp paste – Place the dried shrimps into a food processor and blitz until the prawns resemble fine breadcrumbs, then transfer the dried shrimps to a mortar bowl. In the same processor bowl (no need to clean first), place the garlic and chillies and pulse until finely minced, then add it to the mortar bowl along with the shrimps. Pound the ingredients together with the pestle until it forms a paste. Spoon the paste into a large bowl. There's no need to clean the mortar before pounding the palm sugar.
- Place the palm sugar into the mortar bowl. Break the palm sugar with the pestle into large pieces. The sugar is quite sticky, so add a few tablespoons of sauce and continue to pound and grind (adding the sauce will help the sugar dissolve). Continue adding tablespoons of sauce in between grinding until it's finished. There should be no lumps of palm sugar remaining.
- For the dressing – Pour the palm sugar mixture into the large bowl with the chilli shrimp paste and give it a good mix.
- Place the beans into the mortar and pound it a few times and crush the beans slightly, then remove to a small bowl, and do the same with the roasted peanuts.
- Add the papaya, prawns, tomatoes, snake beans, and peanuts into the large bowl with the dressing and give it a good mix. Optional – Display some prawns on the top of the salad and garnish with Thai basil leaves, chilli and peanuts.
