Salty, Sour, Spicy, Crunchy Go-Go

Green papaya


















Green mango salad, green papaya salad, and green tea salad (lephet thoke, made with Burmese fermented green tea leaves) have inspired this vibrant, tastey, salty, sour, spicy, and crunchy creation.











Green papaya, shredded (julienne cut or grated w/ box grater)
Green mango, shredded
Fermented green tea leaves (Lephet)*
Young ginger, shredded
Roasted peanuts
Toasted sesame seeds
Fried garlic slices
Yellow dal, soaked overnight, dried and fried
Cilantro
Thai chiles, finely diced
Toasted coconut
Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Dried shrimp, small
Cabbage, shredded

Dressing:
Lemon and Lime juice
Fish sauce
Soy sauce
Rice wine vinegar
Peanut oil
Mustard seeds, ground

Quantities of all the ingredients are based on personal taste.
Make mounds of each individual ingredient next to one another on a platter.
Just before serving, combine all the dressing ingredients and pour over all ingredients and mix together.
*Lephet, Burmese fermented tea leaf is hard to find. I use good quality green tea and combine with lemon juice and fish sauce in a mortar and pestle
For a Thai inspired meal serve with pla-dook foo.
In Cambodia, Papaya salad is served with salted crab.
In Isan, the Northeastern region of Thailand, papaya salad is served with pla rah a pickled mudfish with an oder as fierce as durian.
Here is a recipe for Som Tam Isan (papaya salad from Isan)


Papaya salad ingredients at Wat Mongkolratanaram, Berkeley’s Thai Buddhist temple, where they serve affordable, homestyle Thai food to the public every Sunday

Even Thai traditions are fading away with the globalized new world.

But I don't think McDonalds big macs will replace Thai street snacks, and neither Coke nor Starbucks can compete with Thai drinks

Tune: Kotmorn Yoop Yap by Sakarin Boonpit off of Thai Beat A Go-Go Vol. 2 from Subliminal Sounds records is a whacky version of All Shook Up!

Tune: Tee Makhuea Pok is another Thai cover of an American song. This time the artist goes even more country with a version of You're Cheatin' Heart. The artist is Pairote, also on Thai Beat a Go-Go.

Tune: Wasana Gam Par (Could You Love Me?) by Chaan Siang Phin off the cd Molam: Thai Country Groove from Isan from Sublime Frequencies records is a real scorcher. Nice groove.

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The cuisine of Isan, in the Northeast corner of Thailand, is different from the rest of the nations cuisine because they do not use as much coconut milk. The food is extra spicey in Isan with lots of chillies and herbs. They eat a lot of stickey rice and the cuisine shares many traditions and recipes with neighboring Laos.