Papaya Salad
It's really simple and often served with rice.
papaya
garlic
hot peppers
lime
fish sauce
tomato
Amounts will vary due to the size and quality of papaya.
Use the large, elongated variety with dark green skin. Peel the skin and shred the flesh. My mom uses a long knife to shred it. She'll repeatedly wack the flesh lengthwise and then shave off long slivers. (Scary I know!!!). I, OTOH, use a modern day shredder. LOL Next, she mashes some garlic with one or two hot peppers. Now, I have no idea of the variety of peppers she uses. She grows her own. They are about 2 to 3 inches long, thin, VERY SPICY HOT, and when mature are usually red or orange in color. (I'll try to find out the variety, but asking my mom for specific information is like talking to myself!) As for mashing the garlic and pepper together, I use a stone mortar and pestle. I suppose you could place them together between a couple layers of plastic wrap and mush them together with a heavy pot or iron skillet. Just improvise
Add the garlic and pepper to freshly squeezed lime. The amount will depend on the quality of papaya. Sometimes it's a half, sometimes it's an entire lime. You can add more later. Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and a thinly sliced tomato. Mix all together with papaya. Taste. If it needs more of a sour taste, add lime. If it needs more salt, add the fish sauce. I usually eat this with steamed rice because it's so spicy.
Another dish that I like is sour bamboo. My mom makes it using alot of exotic spices that I can't even spell. She won't get into with me over the phone because she says she has to show me in order for me to learn. Yada Yada Yada.... Anyhow here's an easier version that tastes just as good.
Sour Bamboo
spicy red curry paste (usually found in a jar)
olive oil
fish sauce
chicken cut into slices (preferably with dark meat)
water
1 can of sour bamboo drained
fresh basil
Cook 1 tablespoon red curry paste and 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Don't let it burn. Cook until you can smell the aroma. Add 2 tablespoons fish sauce. Add chicken and cook till done. My mom uses thighs with skin and bones. She tells me that she adds boneless, skinless chicken breast when she makes it for me. Now add ~ 2 cups of water. You can add more if needed. Bring to a boil. Add drained bamboo shoots and about 3 stems of basil pulled apart.
You could add coconut juice. But, we don't since I can't stand curry with coconut juice. Also, I prefer the soft bamboo shoots. But, they are VERY HARD to find. My mom can't even find them for me anymore. I'll have to check out the asian grocery stores in Philadelphia. I hate venturing out to some of those neighborhoods. Anyhow, you can still use the regular bamboo shoots. We usually eat this with steamed rice. Do you see a theme here. LOL
I wrote down the recipe for her spring rolls years ago. It's somewhere in my house. The key for spring rolls is finding the round, frozen Lumpia wraps. Again, this requires a trip to inner city Philly. So, I usually have her help me make huge batches (like 200) when she visits and freeze them for later. There are other dishes that I like and she won't tell me over the phone how to make. I think, no, I know she's using this as leverage for me to get my rear to Florida by spring.
