If you
prefer to eat your papayas ripe and golden, you could try making this
soup with any summer squash or Chinese winter melon instead. ##
1
unripe papaya, weighing roughly 750 g (11/2 lb)
1 litre (4 cups) chicken
stock
1 cup vegetable spice
paste for vegetables
2 salam leaves
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
1/4 teaspoon powdered white pepper
1 teaspoon salt fried shallots
to garnish
Peel the
papaya, cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Slice the papaya
lengthwise in 4 or 6 slices, then slice crosswise in slices about 0.5
cm (1/4 in) thick. Heat stock, add spice paste and bring to the boil.
Simmer 2 minutes, then add the salam leaves, lemon grass
and papaya and simmer gently until the papaya is tender. If the stock
reduces too much, add more. Season to taste with pepper and salt and
garnish with fried shallots.
Helpful
hint : To save time, you can use chicken stock cubes in place
of home-made chicken stock, although the taste will be nowhere near
as good.
Gedang
Mekuah