Beat the heatwave with this cool and spicy salad inspired by the original 'Green Papaya salad', a popular Thai dish. Of course you can use green papaya in this recipe (you may be able to find green papaya in Asian groceries but they are quite expensive). I prefer carrot as it gives natural sweetness to this dish so I only need a small amount of palm sugar to balance the taste. This colourful orange carrot is rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant compound that protects your body from free radicals (molecules that cause cell damage). Carrots are also a good source of vitamin A and lutein that are well known for eye health. Moreover, carrots contain a type of fibre that feeds your beneficial gut bacteria. Keeping your gut bacteria happy, hence keeping you healthy.
Ingredients
2 medium organic carrots (approx. 120g), shredded
1 ripe tomato, cut into 8 pieces (or 5 cherry tomatoes, halved)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped (depending on your preferred degree of spiciness)
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp tamarind paste (if not available, use lime juice instead)
1/2 tsp palm sugar (optional)
1-2 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp dried shrimps (you may use cooked king prawns instead)
1 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed
To make the dressing - Combine the garlic, chilli, lime juice, tamarind paste, fish sauce and palm sugar together in a large bowl. Have a taste and adjust the amount of lime juice and fish sauce to your liking.
Add the cherry tomatoes and use the back of spoon to squash the tomatoes a little to release the juice, then add grated carrot and mix well.
Add the dried shrimps and the peanuts and mix well. Best served immediately or it can be kept refrigerated for a few hours. Enjoy!