3 cups grated green papaya
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon water
grated red chili and garlic
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 teaspoon garlic
1 tablespoon shallots sliced and fried in peanut or vegetable oil for 4-5 minutes over medium heat, until golden and crisp
roasted crushed peanuts (about 1/2 cup)
Dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice and add the fish sauce and shredded chilis.
Put the shredded papaya in a large bowl. Add half the mint and basil, some shallot oil (the oil the shallots were fried in) and the garlic. Mix well.
Place the papaya mixture on a serving plate. Top with the remaining mint and basil, then the fried shallots and roasted crushed peanuts. Serve.
NOTE:
Try to get a green papaya, not a papaya that’s green. In the Asian groceries I have noticed a difference; the green papayas are a little larger and they are individually wrapped in netting and brown paper; they are also more expensive than the regular papayas.
Also, Vietnamese lemons taste and look more like limes, so you might want to substitute a lime for the lemon.