Green Papaya Salad...if only I had prawns

Was cleaning my inbox the other day and found a recipe of Green Papaya Salad I had sent to myself couple of years back…no subject, no photo, no source just the recipe copy pasted...quite surprising since I don’t think I had started reading up recipes on the internet just yet…around that time and since God knows when, my favorite pastime and stress buster used to  be flipping through the innumerable cookbooks that I have…read through the recipe and could understand why I would have wanted to save it…I have not met or heard of anyone who doesn’t like Som Tum…BUT with coconut cream??!!!??  I HAD to try it…a few very minor tweaks…and am soooooooo glad I made this…just stopped myself from giving this the title of the best Som Tum everrrrrrr cause I didn’t have any prawns to add in…do try this and if you manage to click a picture which looks better than what I have on, please do send it on me either here or on facebook to post because everyone NEEDS to know that this salad is beautiful inside and out!!

Green Papaya Salad (with coconut cream)

Ingredients:

• Green Papaya, peeled and coarsely grated
• Tomatoes, thin wedges
• Onions, thin sliced half moons
• Peanuts, roasted and slightly crushed, a handful
• Fresh Coriander leaves, a few

Dressing:

 (specifying measurements to give an idea of proportion, adjust to taste and quantity)

• Coconut Cream, 3 tbsp
• Oil , 1 tbsp ( any light neutral oil)
• Fish Sauce or Light Soy Sauce for vegetarians, 2 tbsp
• Sugar, 2 tsp
• Lemon juice, 1 tbsp
• Thai chili sauce or red chili flakes or if you get red bird’s eye chili, to taste

Instructions:

Mix all Dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and stir till sugar fully dissolves. 

If the dressing seems too thick, add a tablespoon or so of water.Do a taste check and further adjust according to taste – should be little sweet, a little tangy, a little spicy.

Place papaya, tomatoes, onions and most of the coriander in large bowl. 

Squish everything lightly with your hands and pour over the dressing. 

Mix and squish, squish, squish some more. 

Add most of the peanuts and toss.Taste test again and adjust seasonings if required.

Arrange on a serving plate, top with remaining peanuts and coriander. Serve immediately!

And unlike me, pls. ensure you have some prawns when you make this L - fresh prawns, peeled and boiled till done (max 3-4 minutes), drained, cooled and then tossed in with rest of the stuff