Green papaya salad with coconut and prawns

Babiche Martens

This easy-to-prepare summer salad will invoke the flavours of a tropical island holiday.

Ingredients

1	Coconut, fresh (Main)
20	Cooked prawns (Main)
1	Green papaya (Main)

Dressing

1 tsp	Sugar
¼ cup	Water
1	Red chilli, (bird's eye), finely diced
2 tsp	Fish sauce
1	Lemon, juiced
½ tsp	Sesame oil
4	Lebanese cucumber, or 1 cup telegraph, diced

Directions

1. For the dressing, place all ingredients in a small saucepan, heat gently while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and let sit while preparing the salad.
2. Halve the papaya, remove the seeds and the skin then finely slice. Peel the prawns and add to the papaya.
3. Hold the coconut over a bowl to catch the water then, with the back of a chef's knife, whack the coconut three or four times around the diameter until it cracks, then break in half. Remove the flesh using a spoon, gently shred and add to the bowl. The coconut water makes a delicious chilled drink with or without the bourbon.
4. Add the diced cucumber, then pour over the dressing. Chill for 15 minutes before serving.