Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook time: 0 | Total time: 30 mins
Course: Starter | Servings: 4
Difficulty level: Easy
Ingredients:
Vegetables
The cutting of the vegetables that go into this salad is probably the most difficult part of this recipe. For best results, opt for uniformly sliced matchsticks with a sharp knife for the papaya and carrot – roughly 2mm by 2mm strips, and ~1mm thick tomato slices, essential for the dressing to properly coat the vegetables. You could save time by using a julienne peeler for the papaya and carrot, but try not to leave the vegetables either too chunky or too finely grated.
- 2 cups raw papaya, peeled, de-seeded and cut into matchsticks
- 1 cup carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks. Remove the central core of the carrot prior to cutting, if tough
- 1 medium tomato, finely sliced (~1mm thickness)
- 1 tbsp coriander stems, cut into ~1 cm pieces
Spice paste
- 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks
- ½ inch ginger
- 2-3 cloves garlic
Dressing
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (avoid light soy – it does not have the thickness to properly coat the vegetables)
- 1 tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 ½ tbsp chilli sauce of your choice
- Salt, to taste
Topping / garnishing
- ½ cup roasted peanuts, slightly crushed
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
Instructions
- Add the finely sliced / cut vegetables to a salad bowl
- In a mortar-pestle, pound the onion, ginger and garlic into a paste
- Combine the spice paste and the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well.
- When ready to serve, drizzle the spice paste-salad dressing mix on to the vegetables. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Add roasted peanuts and sesame. Mix
- Garnish with chopped coriander and serve cold.