Green Papaya Salad

One of my favorite dishes is green papaya salad.  This is a south Asian dish (often found in Thai and Vietnamese restaurants) consisting of shredded green papaya, vinaigrette, chopped peanuts and more.  It is crisp and refreshing and great after a hot day.

Finding a green papaya in Sonoma County can be difficult, you can find them at the Asian market at the corner of Santa Rosa Ave and Petaluma Hill road - Thanks guys.  They are also very large, think small watermelon, a bit too big for 2 people; so I decided to try it with shredded zucchini instead.  Not grated, you will need a mandolin or peeler that shreds.  For a quick and simple replacement it was great.

2 lbs green papaya or zucchini - shredded, all but the seedy area

½ c cherry tomatoes, split
½ c green beans, raw cut into 1” pieces
1 small green chili- if you like heat
¼ fresh basil, chiffonade

Dressing

½ T soy sauce
2 T vegetable oil
1 T fish sauce
3 T lime juice
1 T white sugar

Topping

¼ c chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

Combine all of the salad vegetable
Whisk dressing together
Toss with vegetables
Top with peanut

Goes great with Asian BBQ.  I really liked it with the Asian grilled pork steak I mentioned a few days ago.

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