Meatless Monday: Green Papaya Salad

Green Papaya Salad

Sometimes things just come together...
On Friday, I visited Pok Pok.  I'm ashamed to say it was my first time.  Ashamed because anyone who claims the Portland area as home speaks highly of our famous Thai "street foods" restaurant, now open in New York as well.  And I see why!  It's super delicious!  I had a green papaya salad, among other things.

And then on Saturday, I was at my local market (New Seasons) and they had green papaya in the produce section.  One came home.

On Sunday I made a vegan version of green papaya salad.  It's fantastic!  As good as what I had at Pok Pok, in my humble opinion.  What makes this vegan is the lack of shrimp and fish sauce.  Love it!  And the good news is that one fruit makes a lot of shredded papaya, enough for 2 or 3 batches.  That's great because we've already polished off the first one.

Here's my recipe, based on looking at several and interpreting what I had at Pok Pok.

Vegan Green Papaya Salad

The salad
* 2 cups shredded green papaya (I think you can find this pre-shredded in some Asian markets)
* 1/4 cup (or more) green beans, chopped into bite-sized pieces
* 1/4 cup (or more) shredded green cabbage
* 1/4 cup (or more) of shredded carrots
* A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved (I did not use these)
* 1-2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
* 1 handful cilantro, chopped
* 1 Tbsp of dry roast peanuts, plus some for garnish
Toss together in a large bowl

The paste
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 jalepeno pepper, seeds and pith removed, chopped fine
* 1 Tbsp of dry roast peanusts
 Crush in a mortar and pestle (or a bowl with wooden spoon) until you have a rough paste

The dressing

* 2 Tbsp of low sodium soy auce (or gluten-free tamari)

* The juice of 1 lime (3-4 teaspoons)

* 1/2 - 1 tsp of agave nectar, depending on your preference (you can use raw sugar, too)

Add the paste and toss into the salad

Enjoy!