Green Papaya Salad (Vanuatu)

Green Papaya salad uses many of the most popular flavours in Vanuatu, most notably the grated coconut and the green papaya. The peanuts and the fresh lime juice give the dish a nice balance of flavour. A hit of hot chili pepper would be delicious, too. Green papaya crunches like carrot, but tastes mild like a cucumber. If you can make your way to a large Asian market, you’ll probably be able to find some perfectly pre-shredded for you. While there, grab a bag of frozen grated coconut. Moist and naturally sweet, it tastes completely different from the dry papery shreds we find in the baking aisle. With those two purchases, there’s hardly anything left to do.

1½ lb green papaya, shredded
1 bunch green onions, sliced
12 oz shredded coconut
1½ cups peanuts, chopped
2 limes, freshly juiced
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, as desired.

Make sure to use lots of salt, to balance out the lime juice.

Makes 8-10 servings.