![\"\"](\"http:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/thai_market.jpg\" "\\"thai_market\\"")
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By Peyton Roberts<\/em><\/p>\n In my very first Fresh Factor post<\/a><\/span>, I wrote a little about what sparked my interest in trying Guam\u2019s local produce in the first place. In fact, I can sum it all up in one word\u2026 Thailand!<\/p>\n Last August I traveled to Thailand with my friend Jen. At one point we found ourselves taking a cooking class in Chiang Mai. The recipes were phenomenal, but the life-changing part for me was during our outing to the local market. Jen kept saying over and over, eggplant after mango, \u201cHey, we have that on Guam!\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, many of the plants that grow well in Thailand grow well in Guam\u2019s tropical climate as well. Which means\u2026 fresh and delicious Thai food is right here at our fingertips!<\/p>\n Exhibit A. I stopped at my favorite produce stand the other day (the one on Rt. 1 in Piti). I was looking for a green papaya to make my favorite Chiang Mai dish, Thai Papaya Salad. Upon pulling up to the stand, I was disappointed to see no papayas for sale on the table. The blank stare on my face prompted the following discussion:<\/p>\n \u201cAre you looking for something?\u201d Dona, the produce stand owner asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI am looking for a papaya. Do you have any?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, we don\u2019t have any today. I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Dona said.<\/p>\n \u201cBummer, I was going to make papaya salad.\u201d I said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have them, but they aren\u2019t ripe yet,\u201d said a man behind the counter.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s perfect! I need a green<\/em> papaya!\u201d I said, with renewed hope.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me go pick one for you,\u201d said the man behind the counter.<\/p>\n The man walked fifty feet to the right of the produce stand, reached up to grab a papaya, and sold it to me for $2. I took the papaya home and pounded it together with local long beans, tomatoes, and boonie peppers into a Guamified version of my favorite Thai salad. With every bite I marvelled that the tangy papaya I was eating was literally minutes off the tree and grown less than five miles from my house.<\/p>\n Below I share with you the papaya salad recipe from our cooking class, adapted based on what I\u2019ve been able to find easily on Guam. The recipe is a little more labor intensive than most (there is a lot of pounding!), but the end result is a unique, tangy flavor that\u2019s more intense than most and comes together in about 15 minutes. Give it a try, and careful with those boonie peppers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/papaya_salad1.jpg\" "\\"papaya_salad\\"")
<\/p>\nBoonie Thai Papaya Salad<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/grated_papaya-300x225.jpg\" "\\"grated_papaya\\"")
Prep work: Grate the papaya by peeling it, then use a large chef\u2019s knife to hack into the papaya repeatedly. Use the knife to peel the papaya off in strips. Put papaya strips in a large and sturdy bowl, making sure no seeds sneak their way in.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Peyton-headshot-new-120.jpg\" "\\"Peyton-headshot-new-120\\"")
About Peyton<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n