Thai green papaya salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups papaya (unripe/green, or unripe mango)
• 1 red chili (roughly chopped (or more/less to taste, see notes))
• 1 clove garlic (roughly chopped)
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar (or palm sugar)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 cherry tomatoes
• 6 green beans
• 1 tbsp dried shrimp
• 1 lime juice (ie from 1 lime, or a little less)
• 2 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts

Instructions

1. 1

   Peel and deseed the papaya and cut into matchstick pieces (either with a mandolin, by scoring then using a wide peeler or roughly by hand).

2. 2

   Ideally with a pestle and mortar, crush together the chili, garlic and sugar until the sugar dissolves and everything is largely a paste. Halve the cherry tomatoes and cut the beans into around 1 1/2 - 2 inch (3 - 5cm) lengths.

3. 3

   Add the fish sauce, tomatoes, beans and dried shrimp to the chili-sugar mixture and crush together so that the tomatoes release their juices. Add the lime juice and papaya, if your pestle and mortar is big enough, or else pour the mixture over the papaya in a bowl if not. Gently crush together.

4. 4

   Add the peanuts and mix together. Check the seasoning and add additional lime, fish sauce or chili as needed then serve.