This papaya salad is made from green papaya. It comes from the same fruit as orange papaya, but the harvesting of the fruit at an earlier stage of development leads to its green color. Green papaya is crisp (but not juicy) and it has a very mild flavor, even more mild than cucumbers. It reminds me a lot of kohlrabi. Green papaya salads are often flavored with lime, chilies, garlic, fish sauce, dried seafood, and sugar. In this vegan version, I substituted the fish sauce with soy sauce and used maple syrup to sweeten the dressing. If you like the bright flavors of lime juice, feel free to substitute a few tablespoons of the rice vinegar with lime juice. It is more common to top the salad with toasted peanuts, but I’m using toasted sunflower seeds instead. Sunflower seeds are inexpensive, and I don’t think we use them enough!
SHREDDING PAPAYA FOR GREEN PAPAYA SALAD
Shredding the papaya: In the recipe, I explain a method which involves constantly tapping at the papaya with a knife and carefully slicing of layers of shredded papaya. This process can be quite tiring on the wrist and forearm. For a video of the shredding technique, watch this video. Another way to shred the papaya is to slice it in half lengthwise. Then, use a spoon to remove the seeds and strings. After removing the seeds, from the papaya, slice each half into quarters. Next, make very thin slices of papaya using a mandoline. Gather up the sliced papaya and julienne them into thin strips. A third method is to grate the papaya with a box grater, though I haven’t tested this method myself.Using a julienne peeler: I’ve tried shredding the green papaya with a julienne peeler and the cross blade of my mandoline, but neither option worked well. I simply couldn’t push the papaya through the cross blade, and the julienne peeler just scraped the surface of the papaya without making any shreds.
