I was at Double Dragon Foods grocery store and noticed a line of customers at their "deli" area. There was a lady preparing something for the customers but I didn't pay much heed to it. I became curious as a steady line of customers continued to build. I walked to the counter to see bins of various vegetables. One bin had long stringy stuff which I couldn't quite make out but initially thought was onions or bean sprout minus the bean but turned out to be green papaya. The sign read "Fresh Papaya Salad".
I watched as the lady asked customers what they wanted and then she turned to a large mortar and put in garlic, Thai bird chili peppers, sugar(?), tomatoes, lime, long beans, Thai eggplant, a scoop of thick chunky sauce, fish sauce, peanuts, and shredded papaya. There was a certain order that she tossed ingredients in, pounding with pestle, adding more ingredients, pounding with pestle, continuing this cycle until she felt it was ready and then scooping out a sample for the customers to try.
I decided I had to try some ($3.99 for the size pictured above, $5.99 for the large). I asked the gal in front of me how it tasted, mostly concerned with how much heat it had and the fish sauce which it seemed the preparer added liberally. The gal ordered hers with 5 chili peppers. I ordered mine with only 1 chili pepper and as it turned out, it was at my limit of heat.
What's this stuff taste like? It was salty, tart, "fishy", and mildly sweet. I loved the crunchy and varied texture. Longbeans I've always had cooked and this was the first time I had it raw. Now I prefer raw longbeans over cooked. I've never had raw Thai eggplant before. It added a nice texture but it seemed neutral/bitter in taste. The papaya was the big surprise in that I expected it to be sweet and soft but it was crunchy and didn't really seem to have its own flavor but soaked in the flavor of the sauces.
The minus side of this papaya salad? It was too salty and a bit on the fishy side. For those who haven't had fish sauce before, a little goes a long ways and the smell can be overpowering.
Papaya Salad is good, different, and cheap eating, what this blog is all about. We had enough for 3 meals making this cheap. It definitely is different. The good will be subjective. The long line was testimony of good but I believe the typical Midwest palate will be challenged to get the fork beyond the nose.
Double Dragon Foods
121 Maryland Ave W
St Paul, MN
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