CHICKEN AND PAPAYA SALAD

A favourite recipe. I usually buy a papaya when they are cheap and leave it until is very ripe. Not good if the papaya is still green.

INGREDIENTS:
1 red papaya, peeled and seeded
350g (2 cups) shredded roast chicken meat
40g baby spinach leaves or rocket and spinach leaves
1 Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced
2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
a handful of mint leaves
80g (1/2 cup) peanuts, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Asian fried onions
Dressing
1 Tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp grated palm sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 large red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

METHOD
Mix the tamarind pulp with 3 Tbsp of water, then add the soy sauce, ginger, palm sugar, cumin and chilli. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the chicken to the dressing and toss together.

I usually get some chicken thighs or chicken breasts and fry them with some salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil. Have tried with leftover chicken from supermarket but it's not as good. It takes only about 10 minutes to fry your own and the result is much, much better.

Arrange the spinach leaves on a serving platter. Top with bite-size chunks of papaya, then scatter with the peanuts, cucumber, fried onions and spring onion.
Arrange the dressed chicken over the top of the salad, then scatter with the mint leaves.
Drizzle any remaining dressing over the top.

Serves 4

Variation: 

Tofu & Papaya salad

Substitute the chicken for the tofu and marinate it for about 30 minutes.

Marinated tofu

500gr firm tofu, sliced into 1 - 2 cm bits

2 Tbsp finely grated ginger

1 tsp finely grated lime rind

1 Tbsp lime juice

2 tsp honey

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sriracha hot chilli sauce

Method:

To make the marinated tofu, place the ginger, garlic, lime rind and juice, honey, soy sauce and sriracha in a large bowl and mix to combine. 

Add the tofu and toss to coat. Put in a sealable plastic bag and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Put a bit of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the tofu for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden.

Cut into very thin slices and use instead of the chicken in the above recipe.

Serve.