Monday, November 11, 2013

Green Papaya Soup

I lifted an old branch on the tree to remove it not realizing a papaya was supported by it. The next day found a green papaya on the ground. Not wanting to throw it away I hit the Internet and just about all I found for recipes was an Asian Raw Salad.  I didn't have all the spices they use and definitely no Fish Sauce.   I even asked on a Mexican food forum and the only answer was use it as a meat tenderizer.  I did know that about Papaya but not that only green ones are used.

So I gave making soup a try by cutting it up in little spaghetti sized strips in a  chicken broth, some chicken pieces and lots of other veggies.   Spices and Nori to make it as Asian as possible and some angel hair noodles.  Actually came out very good but I'm still without any Mexican-ish recipes.  My neighbor likes it with lime and salt but she likes everything that way.

From Wikipedia
The unripe green fruit can be eaten cooked, usually in curries, salads, and stews. Green papaya is used in Southeast Asian cooking, both raw and cooked.[14] In Thai cuisine, papaya is used to make Thai salads such as som tam and Thai curries such as kaeng som when still not fully ripe. In Indonesian cuisine, the unripe green fruits and young leaves are boiled for use as part of lalab salad, while the flower buds are sautéed and stir-fried with chillies and green tomatoes as Minahasan papaya flower vegetable dish.



And from Dr Leslie Korn
Papaya is rich in iron and calcium; a good source of vitamins A, B and G and an excellent source of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). The extracts of unripe C. papaya contain terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, glycosides, saponins, and steroids. Extracts of ripe and unripe papaya fruits and seeds are active against bacteria, which is why many women on the west coast dry the bitter seeds to prepare them as a tea. Fresh or dry crushed seeds are bacteriostatic, bactericidal and fungicidal.  
 Papaya / Paw Paw / Carica papaya

5 comments:

Steve Cotton said...

Ironic, isn't it? I was finally getting used to the taste of papaya. Now, I can't have any fruit. Such is the cycle of life.

sparks said...

Due to a medical condition I assume but can't imagine what doctor would say fruit is bad for you.

Steve Cotton said...

High triglycerides. Until I get the number down, a lot of things will not show up on my plate. Especially anything with sugar.

Kim G said...

A Vietnamese friend here makes a mean green papaya salad. But you need those little dried shrimp, and of course fish sauce. But if you can get the ingredients, the salad is well worth the trouble.



Saludos,


Kim G
Boston, Ma
Where said friend's taste in fish sauce runs from the acceptable to the truly vile.

sparks said...

I'm tempted to try without the fish sauce but will look in big stores in Manzanillo next trip

The construction of the house finished in April 2011 and I'm pretty much settled in. As of March 2014 I'm in preparation for rain mode for this coming summer. That includes sealing and painting things and dealing with drainage issues from last year.

Sparks Mexico Web
Manzanillo Information
House building in Pinal Villa

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