Gỏi đu đủ tom thi differs from the Thai version in that it isn’t as sweet but a little saltier. The dressing for this (and why it is seriously addictive) is nước chấm – a Vietnamese staple, it can be used across a variety of recipes and explains why, with the help of fresh chilli, this dish is still on demand in our household over colder winter months.
I’ve ordered the recipe in 3 stages: fried shallots are fiddly but worth it – if you can’t get Thai, any shallot will do; for the salad, you need a julienne peeler which is inexpensive to get; if you can’t find palm sugar, sub with white or demerara. And please don’t use papaya for this recipe UNLESS GREEN & UNRIPE. It should have chalk-white flesh, similar to a granny smith.
Serves 2 as a main
Ingredients:
for the nước chấm:
- 9 tablespoons/150ml boiled water
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 bird’s eye chilies, chopped
for the crispy shallots:
- 450g red Thai shallots, peeled and sliced
- 475 ml organic sunflower oil
- kosher salt
for the salad:
- 20 king prawns, peeled and deveined
- 1 unripe green papaya, peeled and julienned
- 1 large carrot, or 4 mini ones, peeled and julienned
- 4 red bird eye chili, sliced with seeds
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 x small bunch mint leaves, finely sliced
- 1 x small bunch Thai basil leaves, finely sliced
- 1 x small bunch coriander, chopped
- 2 tablespoon peanuts, toasted and crushed
Instructions:
for the nước chấm:
- In a bowl dissolve the sugar in the boiled water then combine with lime and fish sauce
- Add the chili and garlic and mix well – it should be sweet, tart and salty at the same time. Adjust to taste (this can keep in a jar up to a month)
- Then thinly slice the red onion from the salad ingredients and in a separate bowl add to 3 tbsp. of nước chấm and marinate for at least 1 hour. Keep the rest of the nước chấm aside
- Then make the crispy shallots (see below)
for the crispy shallots:
- Slice the shallots into thin rounds
- Line a baking tray with 4 layers of folded kitchen towel
- Set a fine sieve over a saucepan
- Put the oil into a wok – the saucepan and sieve are for when you want to take the shallots off
- Add the shallots to the oil in the wok over high heat and fry, stirring frequently, until shallots begin to bubble. Stir constantly as the shallots fry to ensure even cooking, until shallots turn pale golden brown – about 8 to 10 minutes
- Working quickly, pour contents of wok into the sieve set over the saucepan – the shallots will continue cooking for a brief period after draining. Allow to cool
- Transfer shallots onto the kitchen towel, spreading them out into an even layer, and season with salt
- After a few minutes, carefully lift the top layer of paper towel and roll the shallots onto the second layer, blotting gently with the first
- Repeat until shallots are on the last layer of paper towels and mostly grease-free and cool to room temperature
for the salad:
- Make the roasted peanuts: toast in a pan and leave to the side. Then crush under a rolling pin and save for later
- Add the cleaned prawns to boiling water for 4minutes, check one for being cooked through and immediately plunge into ice cold water, transferring to kitchen towel once cool
- In a large bowl combine the shredded green papaya, carrot, herbs and mix
- Add the red onion in nước chấm and mix well
- Turn onto bowl, arranging prawns around the salad and sprinkling with crushed peanuts and fried shallots
- Serve with the nước chấm, some Sriracha and wedges of lime on the side
FU2020 