Green Papaya Salad

If you know anything about my eating habits, you would know that I am not a salad person at all. So it must take a really tasty salad to make a salad appealing to me. Growing up, my family, although Chinese, was very influenced by Vietnamese cuisine. My mom would make a salad very similar to this one, although I have also taken some ingredients from the Thai version of this salad. I hope you will enjoy this tangy and refreshing salad!

INGREDIENTS

1 Green Papaya (shredded - packages of pre-shredded Green Papaya are available)
1 Carrot (shredded)
1 Cucumber (cut into little strips)
1 Tomato (sliced and cut in half)
3 cloves of Garlic (finely minced)
1 Scallion (finely minced)
1/4 cup Fish Sauce
1/4 cup of Sugar (Palm Sugar preferred)
1/3 cup of Lime juice (or the juice from 3 to 4 Limes)
1/4 tsp. Lime zest
2 to 3 Chilies (sliced cross-wise)
Cilantro to garnish
Crushed Peanuts to garnish

DIRECTIONS

Sauce:
Combine the lime juice, lime zest, fish sauce, garlic, scallions, chilies, and sugar with a whisk, making sure that the sugar is completely dissolved.

In a large bowl, mix together the shredded green papaya, carrots and cucumber. Drizzle the finished dressing over all the ingredients and stir well to combine.

Marinate in the fridge for about an hour to allow the flavors to meld. This salad can be kept in the fridge for up to a week. When you serve it, you may want to strain away some of the excess dressing.

Garnish with cilantro, peanuts, arrange tomato slices along the edge of the bowl and enjoy!