Post by Admin on Dec 7, 2011 13:43:03 GMT -5
Recipe below has been excerpted from Cooking from the Heart: The Hmong Kitchen in America by Sami Scripter and Sheng Yang
Makes about 6 servings
This salad, a Hmong favorite, can be made with green papaya or shredded carrots. Sheng Yang prepared it with carrots the day she came to live with the Scripters in 1980. For non-Hmong people, the combination of flavors is definitely an acquired taste. Sheng always includes MSG in papaya salad, although it can be omitted. Shrimp and crab paste have strong fishy flavors, and although they are essential to Hmong papaya salad, a non-Hmong may want to taste some before including the full amount called for in this recipe.
4 c shredded green papaya or 4 medium-sized carrots
2 to 4 cloves garlic (depending upon your taste — some people like it very garlicky)
1 to 3 hot Thai chili peppers (depending upon desired heat)
1 to 2 tbsp fish sauce
½ tbsp shrimp paste (optional)
½ tbsp crab paste (optional)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp MSG (optional)
Juice and some of the pulp of 1 lime
6 cherry tomatoes
3 c shredded cabbage
Some Asian markets sell shredded green papaya, or you can shred it yourself after peeling using a special tool, also available in Asian markets. If preparing this dish with carrots, scrub them well and cut off the top ends. Peel them into long, thin strips with a vegetable peeler and set them aside. Remove the papery skin from the garlic cloves and put the cloves in a large mortar. Remove the stem ends of the chilies and add the chilies to the garlic. With a pestle, pound the garlic and chilies until they are mushy. Next, add the green papaya or carrot strips, fish sauce, shrimp and crab paste (if desired), sugar, and MSG (if desired). Squeeze the lime juice into the mixture, discarding the seeds. Use a spoon to scrape some of the lime pulp into the salad. Pound together a minute or two, turning the mixture over with a spoon. Continue until the flavors are extracted and mixed, but the papaya strips or carrots still retain their shape.
Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters, and mix them into the salad. Put 1/2 cup of the cabbage on each of 6 individual salad plates and top with the salad mixture.
Makes about 6 servings
This salad, a Hmong favorite, can be made with green papaya or shredded carrots. Sheng Yang prepared it with carrots the day she came to live with the Scripters in 1980. For non-Hmong people, the combination of flavors is definitely an acquired taste. Sheng always includes MSG in papaya salad, although it can be omitted. Shrimp and crab paste have strong fishy flavors, and although they are essential to Hmong papaya salad, a non-Hmong may want to taste some before including the full amount called for in this recipe.
4 c shredded green papaya or 4 medium-sized carrots
2 to 4 cloves garlic (depending upon your taste — some people like it very garlicky)
1 to 3 hot Thai chili peppers (depending upon desired heat)
1 to 2 tbsp fish sauce
½ tbsp shrimp paste (optional)
½ tbsp crab paste (optional)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp MSG (optional)
Juice and some of the pulp of 1 lime
6 cherry tomatoes
3 c shredded cabbage
Some Asian markets sell shredded green papaya, or you can shred it yourself after peeling using a special tool, also available in Asian markets. If preparing this dish with carrots, scrub them well and cut off the top ends. Peel them into long, thin strips with a vegetable peeler and set them aside. Remove the papery skin from the garlic cloves and put the cloves in a large mortar. Remove the stem ends of the chilies and add the chilies to the garlic. With a pestle, pound the garlic and chilies until they are mushy. Next, add the green papaya or carrot strips, fish sauce, shrimp and crab paste (if desired), sugar, and MSG (if desired). Squeeze the lime juice into the mixture, discarding the seeds. Use a spoon to scrape some of the lime pulp into the salad. Pound together a minute or two, turning the mixture over with a spoon. Continue until the flavors are extracted and mixed, but the papaya strips or carrots still retain their shape.
Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters, and mix them into the salad. Put 1/2 cup of the cabbage on each of 6 individual salad plates and top with the salad mixture.