Papaya salad on a rainy day

On stormy days, my mother would tell me to go to the backyard and pick a few papayas. Ripe ones could be eaten as fruit, while medium-sized ones could be used to make soup with pork bones.

As for the unripe fruit with its sap still intact, my mother would shred it into long strips to make a salad, served with grilled sesame rice crackers. A little time spent tending the garden was enough to prepare a decent family meal without needing to go to the market.

For papaya salad, the papaya should be green; if it's slightly unripe but not yet soft, it can still be used because it retains the necessary crispness and firmness.
My mother shredded the papaya using a special double-edged knife, so each shred was perfectly uniform and of just the right thickness. This not only allowed the salad to absorb the seasoning easily but also made the dish visually appealing when presented.

The shredded papaya needs to be rinsed with coarse salt to remove the sap, then soaked in ice water to maintain its crispness. After draining, the papaya is mixed with crushed roasted peanuts, fried onions, fish sauce with chili and garlic, lime juice, and Vietnamese coriander.

Wealthier households might add savory toppings, such as boiled shrimp, pork skin, shredded chicken, or dried beef. Some families will use a mortar and pestle to pound the papaya strips, similar to the salad (Sontam) in Thailand, so that the papaya strips are thoroughly infused with the seasoning.

My mother has a habit of wearing gloves and kneading the salad to let the flavors soak in. She says that kneading the salad by hand allows the ingredients to absorb the flavors more gradually and intensely than mixing with chopsticks. After mixing, she usually covers the salad and lets it sit for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to infuse before serving it on a plate.

Papaya salad doesn't have a complicated recipe; the focus is on flavor. It blends various ingredients and spices that complement and balance each other.
Green papaya is considered cooling (yin), and when mixed with warming (yang) ingredients like garlic and chili peppers, it neutralizes the hot and cold elements in the body. The saltiness of fish sauce is also somewhat reduced thanks to the acid in lemon.

The salad, with its cooling properties, pairs well with grilled rice paper or hot rice, creating a clever combination. On sunny days, the tangy papaya salad helps to cool the body and induce sweating. On rainy days, the spicy papaya salad with red chili peppers warms the body and dispels the cold.

The papaya salad my mother made on days when we "skipped" the market carries the rich flavors of childhood. During the agricultural off-season, it was a popular snack on the tables of our elders. On rainy days or when the harvest failed, it was the main dish on the family dinner table. It doesn't look particularly elaborate, but each person makes it with their own unique flavor.

Sometimes, the same person, but at different times, can create different flavors. My mother was always a very particular cook. On days when she was happy, even a simple papaya salad would taste sweet. But if she was arguing with my father, the salad would definitely be spicy with bird's eye chili. That's why I say, each dish carries a little bit of the cook's heart and soul.

In Central Vietnam, October marks the approaching rainy and stormy season. I glanced out into the backyard and saw the papaya trees were ready for harvest. My mother's papaya salad would soon be on the table, steaming hot...

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/goi-du-du-ngay-mua-3143356.html