As already mentioned, Thai cuisine is high regarded as one of the best in the world. However, street food stalls and the average restaurant have a very limited menu, featuring often the famous Pad Thai, that doesn’t honor nor justify this name. To understand the reason you should either treat yourself at a good restaurant or being lucky enough to get invited to somebody’s place.
We had the luxury of sitting at Rat’s table in Khao Sok, while helping Thai Jungle Life eco-tourism. Rat and the other ladies taking care about us prepared every day something different. But the recipe that we love the most is this salad, fresh and tasty.
INGREDIENTS (4 serves):
1 green papaya
200 g green beans
200 g cherry tomatoes
2 carrots
1 garlic clove
1-2 spoons of toasted peanuts
1 lime
1 chili
Squid sauce, sugar and water just enough
DIRECTIONS:
Cut a green papaya into julienne strips trying to get long filaments. Pass them in flour and deep-fry them.
Chop green beans and tomatoes in small pieces. Cut the carrots into julienne. Ground together garlic, chili, toasted peanuts wet with lime juice, a spoon of sugar dissolved in a very small amount of water, and squid sauce till obtaining a rather liquid paste. Mix green beans, cherry tomatoes, and carrot with the paste till reaching homogeneity.
Add the fried papaya.
TIPS TO OTHER LONGITUDES: Squid sauce can be replaced by soy sauce. Also green papaya can be difficult to find in non-tropical veggie shops. Try it out with zucchini or some green pumpkin.
