Papaya Salad Spring Rolls

Thai Green Papaya Salad, or Som Tum, blends fresh and zesty unripe papaya, green beans, spicy Thai chiles, juicy tomatoes, sweet lime, and crunchy peanuts. In this recipe, we subbed Eric's Nopales Heat Wave nopales for the green beans and wrapped everything in rice paper for a perfectly dunkable appetizer. The secret ingredient? A little brine in the peanut sauce for an extra kick! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Papaya Salad Spring Rolls:
2 cloves garlic
1 – 2 bird’s eye chilies, to taste
1 tablespoon coconut sugar or dark brown sugar
1 medium green papaya; about 4 – 5 cups shredded or julienned
¾ cup Eric’s Nopales Heat Wave nopales, drained
3 tablespoons roasted, unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 large Roma tomato, diced, or ½ cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
10 sheets rice paper
¾ pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cooked, or baked tofu, sliced

Peanut Sauce:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons red curry paste
¾ cup full-fat coconut milk
¼ cup Eric’s Nopales Heat Wave brine
2 tablespoons coconut sugar or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoons lime juice
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Place the garlic and chili(es) in a large mortar and pestle and pound until there are no more big chunks. (It’s fine if pieces of chili skin or seeds remain.) Alternately, finely mince and use the side of your knife to roughly crush the pieces. Add the coconut sugar and continue to mash with the pestle until it turns into a coarse paste.
2. Add the green papaya and pound until the vegetable has softened; 1 – 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and add the Eric’s Nopales Heat Wave nopales, peanuts, and tomatoes. Use your hands to massage the mixture, then let stand for about 5 minutes. Drain any excess liquid, pressing to extract as much of the water as possible. Drizzle with lime juice and fish sauce or soy sauce, tossing to combine.
3. To assemble the spring rolls, dip one sheet of rice paper very briefly into lukewarm water. You can either fill a shallow bowl, or simply run it under the facet, for no more than 15 seconds. It will still feel firm but continues to soften as you work.
4. Place the rice paper down on a clean surface. Arrange 3 shrimp or slices of tofu down the center in an even line, then top with about ½ - ⅔ cup of the salad. Fold the top and bottom sides of the rice paper over, as if you were making a very small burrito, then roll the sides. Secure with the seams down. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
5. To make the peanut sauce, place the peanut butter and curry paste in a medium bowl and stir until incorporated. Slowly whisk in the coconut milk and nopales brine until the mixture is smooth. Add the coconut sugar, lime juice, and salt, stirring to combine. Transfer to a dipping bowl and enjoy!

Yield:
10 Servings

Notes:
If green papaya is unavailable, shredded green mango or zucchini can be substituted.

Substitute Eric's Nopales Chili Ginger, if you prefer.