Recipe
Bok Lahong (recipe)
Grated green papaya and carrot pounded with garlic, chilli, lemongrass, crab and prahok, then tossed with lime and palm sugar.
This recipe from 196 Flavors makes Cambodian green papaya salad, bok lahong (បុកល្ហុង), with crab pounded in a mortar.[1] The salad balances the sourness of lime, the heat of chilies, the salt of fish sauce and the sweetness of palm sugar. Unripe papaya gives it a tangy flavor and a firm texture that stands up to the pestle.[1]
Ingredients
- 1 green papaya, peeled, seeded and grated
- 2 carrots, peeled and grated
- 1 cup yardlong beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 cup soy sprouts
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts
- 2 tomatoes, quartered
- 0.5 lb crabmeat
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 Thai peppers, or more to taste
- 1 stem lemongrass, finely chopped
- 3 tsp palm sugar
- 4 tsp fish sauce
- 0.5 tsp prahok, or fish or shrimp paste
- Juice of 2 limes
Method
- The grated papaya is soaked in warm water for about 90 minutes, then drained.
- The garlic, peppers, crab, lemongrass and prahok are crushed together with a mortar and pestle.
- The papaya, carrots and sprouts are added and pounded gently for about one minute.
- The mixture is moved to a salad bowl, and the beans, tomatoes, peanuts, palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice are added.
- The salad is stirred for several minutes, until the palm sugar dissolves and the flavors combine, and then served.[1]