My first experience eating this salad in Thailand was very reminiscent of the first time having a proper Thai papaya salad, not the overly sweet version they sell in restaurants back home. I love spicy food, can’t get enough of it. The fiery sauces of the Caribbean don’t even cause me to break a sweat. So of course when the vendor asked me if I wanted it Spicy the first words out of my mouth were “YES OF COURSE” without even a second though.
The first bite felt like someone put straight essence of habanero oil in my mouth. It was an OMG-I-just-burnt-all-the-taste-buds-off-my-tongue moment. If there was ever a time in my life that a cold glass of milk was required, this was it. Don’t think for a second that this stopped me from eating it all. Although my lips felt like they were swelling up and every breath inhaled felt like there was a dragon breathing fire from within me, it was still undeniably delicious. Next time when ordered this salad it was just going to be the tourist (farang) version and then work my way up from there.
It took sometime to be able to have the courage up to ask for this and the Papaya Salad spicy again and after a month of being in Bangkok the intense heat of the chills didn’t seem so bad. Spicy food in Asia is hard to escape and almost becomes mandatory like adding a pinch of salt for flavour, food just doesn’t taste the same without it. I even found my boyfriend starting to ask for more spice on things and he does not regularly eat a lot of spicy foods.
The bean thread glass noodles in this dish are a nice break from all the rice noodles being served everywhere and also healthier for you. The dressing is the very common lime dressing used in a lot of dishes in Thailand and you are free to use just about whatever left over vegetables you have left floating around in the fridge. In my recipe it calls for 1 chilly but if you don’t like a lot of heat you can de-seed the chill and start with half.
This salad is quick and easy to make and for something so simple its really a great melody of flavours in your mouth. Just make sure when you are ordering this dish in Thailand you ask for the mild version and avoid looking like a silly tourist that cant handle the heat.
- 2 Tbl. Fish Sauce
- 4 Tsp. Sugar
- 4 Tbl. Lime Juice
- 1 Mild Red Chili (2 inch piece)
- 2 Hot Chili
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Cup Vermicelli Noodle
- 1/2 Cup Minced Chicken (Cooked)
- 1/2 Cup Celery leaves
- 4 Tbl. Shallots
- 1/2 Cup Minced Onion
- 1/2 Cup Spring Onion
- 4 Tbl Cilantro
- 1/2 Cup Broccoli, cooked and cooled
- 1/4 Bell Pepper, Sliced
- 3 Tbl. Roasted Peanut
- Pound the chili and garlic in mortar until a chunky paste. You still want some texture
- Now prepare the dressing. Mix the lime juice, fish sauce, chili, sugar and garlic together. Taste and adjust to your likings. It should have a more dominant lime flavour
- Heat a pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling add the noodles and cook until translucent. They cook quickly so keep an eye on them. Once they are clear, drain and run them under water to cool. Drain off any excess liquid then put them into a mixing bowl.
- Roughly chop the shallots and celery leaves then add to the bowl along with the remaining ingredients.
- Toss everything with the dressing and serve.
- Grab some chopsticks and Enjoy.
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