Jul
30
Papaya Salad
July 30, 2007 |
I actually tried to eat this once. That is, I gingerly accepted a small piece on a spoon, and stuck it into my mouth. And what happened next is basically that my head exploded, and since then my life have never been the same.
Nan of course loves the stuff. When we where on our mini- honeymoon trip, she was gagging for some, but did not want to eat it alone. And since my body is yet unaccustomed to this culinary delight, I could not share it with her. As she started salivating as we passed a spot where this infamous dish was prepared, I pushed her into purchasing some.
This was brought to the room, where she quickly demolished it, eyes and nose running, while complaining that it was “phet, phet” (hot, hot), but still grinning like someone lost in a dessert that has spotted a waterhole.
The ingredients of this dish is quite simple. Green papaya, chili, fish sauce, some fermented fish, and some other stuff I have not bothered to check out, but those seem to be the main things it is composed off. I found a video on YouTube explaining how to cook it, should you be insane enough to try.
Just remember, the fermented fish is important. It’s easy to make, just stick bits of fish in some fish sauce and leave it in a closed container in room temperature for a few months… anyway, bellow is the video. Enjoy!
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Comments
8 Comments so far
Hey there Rune. I am a big fan of papaya salad now but only certain types. Some are truly disgusting and others very nice.
You will fing your favourite with time and also the deep fried bugs and frog will grow on you as well.
Good isaan food.
Brunty
Well, she has wowed to put me on a training regime on spicy food. Meanwhile I have wowed to introduce her to Norwgian fish balls in white sauce. It’s absolutely tasteless, and I love it.
Its served with potatoes and the whole dish, looks like some kind of white goo.
As for the bugs, I have no problem with those. The frogs and the rat on a stick also goes down well.
JUST SAY NO TO THE FROGS!!! I had to stop the car on my last visit to Isaan. I almost puked from the smell…and the eggs….man I cant do the frogs. The grasshoppers on the other hand are pretty good but the water bugs are a BIG HELL NO.
Papaya Salad is pretty good, Ive had a fair share of that.
Dago you just have not been hungry enough 555
I’ll eat a dog before I eat a frog.There are plenty of dogs there and they taste pretty good.Ive eatin my share of em from the street venders in Pattaya.
You gotta eat Som Tam Rune. I am of the opinion that you are not really at home in Thailand until you make som tam a regular part of your diet. It does help you adjust to life here.
Eating grasshoppers and worms has helped me win the hearts and minds of locals on more than one occassion. I have never eated frog here but my father took me frog gigging and would cook the catch the next day but only the legs. They were quite tastey actually.
Would never intentionally eat dog even when I spent some time in Sakhon Nakorn.
Darwin, are you familiar with Sakhon Nakhon?
Im going there in 6 weeks,Im wondering what it’s like? Are you saying poodle is a regular on the menu in Sakhon Nakhon…..Oh my
Yeah, I will try and get used to it. I actually have one problem, and that is I am not very fond of spicy foods. However, what Nan makes for me is quite good (salivating). I just have to get up on par with what they are eating, so she does not have to cook any special meals just for me.
Anyway, much of the isaan food comes with the spicy bits in the sauce, so you can pretty much regulate the spicyness yourself