Lao green papaya salad

Ingredients

• 10 1/2 oz papaya (approx, unripe/green ideally, or unripe mango)
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 1 tsp padaek (optional, see notes)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 clove garlic (roughly chopped)
• 1 red chili (roughly chopped (or more/less to taste, see notes))
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 1 lime juice (ie from 1 lime)
• 1 tsp fish sauce

Instructions

1. 1

   Peel and deseed the papaya and cut into matchstick pieces (either with a mandolin or roughly by hand).

2. 2

   Ideally with a pestle and mortar, crush together the shrimp paste, padaek if using, sugar, garlic and chili until the garlic and chili are largely a paste. Halve the cherry tomatoes and crush them slightly with the garlic-chili paste so that they are breaking up slightly but not falling apart.

3. 3

   Add the lime juice and fish sauce, pour over the papaya and mix through. Check the taste and add a little more lime juice or fish sauce, to taste.