Green Papaya Salad

Ingredients

• 5 cups green papaya – peeled, seeded, shredded
• 4 pieces Thai bird’s eye chilies – stemmed
• 2 cloves garlic – peeled
• 2 tbsp palm sugar – finely chopped or grated
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp
• 0.25 cups roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 cup yardlong beans – cut into 1.5-inch pieces
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes – halved

Instructions

1. Set up a large mortar and pestle (or a sturdy bowl and a muddler/rolling pin). Prepare all ingredients: shred the green papaya, halve the cherry tomatoes, and cut the yardlong beans.
2. Add the chilies, garlic, and palm sugar to the mortar. Pound into a coarse paste, 30–45 seconds, until the sugar dissolves and the aromatics are fragrant.
3. Add the dried shrimp and half of the peanuts. Pound lightly to bruise and mix, about 10 seconds.
4. Add the yardlong beans and lightly bruise to crack them without crushing, 10–15 seconds.
5. Pour in the fish sauce and fresh lime juice. Stir to dissolve the palm sugar and combine the dressing.
6. Add the cherry tomatoes and pound gently just to release their juices, 10–15 seconds.
7. Add the shredded green papaya. Use a spoon to lift while pounding with the pestle, tossing and bruising until the strands slightly soften but remain crisp, 1–2 minutes. Taste and balance: adjust with more fish sauce (salty), lime (sour), or palm sugar (sweet) as needed.
8. Transfer the salad to a platter. Sprinkle with the remaining peanuts and serve immediately.