My sister made this for me and my husband whenever she came to visit. She lives on the other side of the world, so I don’t get to see her often. Last time I saw her was almost 2 years ago, I really missed her Thai salad (and I miss her too :-o). We are not Thai, but this salad is so different than other standard salads, it’s spicy!! The hotter the better! My husband doesn’t like Asian food too much, but this salad became one of his favorites.
Ingredients for the Dressing:
| 2 Tbsp | Fresh cilantro (chopped) |
| 1 Tbsp | Fresh minced garlic |
| 1 Tbsp | Fresh minced ginger |
| 1 Tbsp | Minced shallot |
| 2 | Fresh Thai chili |
| 2 Tbsp | Brown sugar |
| 2 Tbsp | Fish sauce (more or less to taste) |
| 3 | Limes |
| 2 Tbsp | Lemon juice |
Ingredients for the Salad:
| 1 small | Green papaya (julienned) |
| 1 head | Romaine Lettuce |
| ¼ cup | Roasted peanuts (chopped) |
Directions:
- Prepare all ingredients – chopped cilantro, garlic, ginger, shallot, chili and squeeze juice out from limes and lemon. (picture 1)
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and add brown sugar, then fish sauce. (pictures 2 and 3)
- Let the dressing sit for a couple of hours in the fridge to let the flavors fully develop.
- Roast peanuts in a toaster oven and chop them. Set aside. (Picture A)
- Peel and seed papaya. (Picture B)
- Julienne papaya. It is better to use a julienne peeler to get a better texture (I didn’t have one, so I grated it). (Picture C)
- Wash lettuce and chop into bigger pieces.
- Pour dressing over papaya and lettuce, and top with roasted peanuts.
GinsKitchen 