Papaya Project

There are several varieties of papaya available. To me, the redder the flesh the more anise flavor while the orange or yellow flesh seems to be muskier. We used different varieties interchangeably for the papaya project.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Najia and I decided to make an entire meal centered around papaya and test it on our best guys. Papaya is one of the most ubiquitous and inexpensive local fruits our fair island has to offer. Serendipitously, it is also very good for you. The nutrients in papaya promote the health of the cardiovascular system and also provide protection against colon cancer. In addition, papaya contains the digestive enzyme, papain, which is often extracted from papaya for use in meat tenderizers. The presence of this enzyme means that, not only is papaya a great meat tenderizer, it is also a good accompaniment to meat as it helps your body break down the proteins. OK enough about healthy eating; lets get to the results.


The Menu
Papaya and Coconut milk smoothie (with rum added of course)
Papaya Bruschetta w/ Goat Cheese 

Thai Green Papaya Salad

Papaya-Marinated Steak with Papaya glaze and salsa

Although we happened to hit quite a few dud recipes, there were some gems as well. The smoothie was tasty and rather rich and would make a great breakfast in itself (rum optional). The bruschetta was outstanding and would also work well as a salsa. The green papaya salad was very good, though upon tasting Spicy Thai's salad, could use some tweaking. I will definitely try it again. The salsa was rather disappointing as it was dry and carroty. Thanks, but no thanks, Martha Stewart. The steak was O.K. tasting, but it certainly was tender. Perhaps better cuts of meat would have made a difference. The glaze added a nice sweetness, but didn't add much else. So, here are the dishes that did work.


    Papaya as Tenderizer

Shredding papaya into a pitcher for the tenderizing marinade.

Shredded Papaya

Recipe adapted from BBQ Backyard.com

Ingredients:

One green or some-what ripe papaya. It is easier and more effective if the papaya is still rather firm and unripe.

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup kosher salt

1 gallon water

Directions:

Seed the fruit.

Grate it.

Mix the sugar, salt and water to make a brine. (If using less water, keep the ratio 2:1, sugar to salt)

Put the papaya and meat in a large pitcher. This fits better in the frig. Cover with brine. 

Leave the marinate out if it will be cooked in 3 hours. Otherwise, refrigerate after leaving it out for 3 hours. 

Note: As this tenderizer is very effective, do not use it on chicken unless you want chicken porridge. Also, if marinating pork, reduce the marinate time significantly.

The very tender, resulting steak.

Papaya Bruschetta

Papaya bruschetta served with goat cheese on toasted baguette

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Frankly, I was surprised at how good this was. It was well-received by all. 

Ingredients:

• 1 papaya
• 5 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
•  
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 French baguette, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Special Equipment:

Food processor or blender

Directions

1. Cut papaya in half and remove seeds. Reserve 2 tablespoons of seeds for the dressing. Peel and dice the papaya, and place in a medium bowl. Add tomatoes, red onion, red pepper and basil, and set aside.
2. In a food processor or blender, combine the papaya seeds, sugar, wine vinegar, oil, mustard and green onions. Process until smooth and thick, and most of the seeds have broken up. Pour over the papaya mixture and stir to coat all of the ingredients. Serve with slices of baguette.

Note: We added goat cheese, but I think any soft cheese would work. This also goes great with plain tortilla chips.

Thai Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam)

Recipe from food.com
Ingredients:

• About 1lb julienned really green unripe papayas
• 3 tomatoes, wedged
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon dried shrimp, fried with little oil
• 8 fresh birds eye chiles, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar or 1 tablespoon palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon roasted peanuts, pounded coarsely
• 1 tablespoon roasted cashew nuts (optional)
• fresh long beans, cut into 2 inch (we used green beans)
• cabbage, shredded

Directions:

Pound garlic until fine. Add garlic, lime juice, fish sauce,brown sugar in a bowl. Mix well. Add papaya, tomato wedges and chili into a big mixing bowl. Stir in the garlic mixture into papaya bowl. Adjust seasoning if necessary. It should be a mixture of sweet, sour and salty. Toss in dried shrimp, ground peanut and cashew nut. Served with long beans, cabbage or other raw vegetables.

I will try making this again and let you all know how it goes.


Papaya and Coconut Milk Smoothie

Ingredients: 1 ripe papaya
6 tablespoons coconut milk
5 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel (optional)
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup finely crushed ice

Add rum or other alcohol to taste (optional)

Directions: 

1. Peel the papaya, cut it in half, remove the black seeds, and chop the fruit coarsely.
2. Combine the papaya, coconut milk, lime juice and peel, sugar, vanilla, and ice in an electric mixer blender. Blend at high speed until mixture is smooth and thick.
3. Serve in chilled tumbler.


Note: Instead of using ice, you could probably use frozen papaya.





We drank ours too fast to take a picture. This is a close approximation of what it looked like.

Other Papaya Uses:


Face Mask

The fruit enzymes found in papayas are know to aid and accelerate healing in skin disorders such as acne. In addition, the fruit enzymes gently exfoliate the skin. Papaya, I think I love you.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh pineapple

1/2 cup fresh papaya

1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

1. Purée the fruit in a blender or food processor.
2. Add honey and blend until the mixture makes a smooth paste.
3. Apply mask to clean skin on your face and neck. Gently steaming your pores open before applying the mask will increase the benefits of it.
4. Leave mask on for 15 to 20 minutes. Recline and relax.
5. Rinse face and neck with warm water.

Healthy Snack

I love fresh papaya with greek yogurt (when I can find it at Costco) and honey. It is great to eat as a digestive after a meal.


Green Papaya Pickles recipe by Joe Pangalinan of Yigo, Guam

Ingredients:

1 medium papaya on the verge of ripening

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 or 3 "boonie" peppers (optional)

Directions:

Peel the papaya, cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Slice the papaya lengthwise into sticks. Place papaya sticks upright in a sterilized mason jar. This is done by boiling the jar in water for 10 minutes. Add sugar, salt, pepper and boonie peppers, if using. Fill the jar with an equal mixture of vinegar to water to cover the papaya.

Cover the jar tightly with lid and store in the refrigerator for one week, shaking the jar regularly. You may also can the papaya to preserve it for up to one year. Canning is actually one of the easiest things to do. All you need is a sterile mason jar with a two-part lid, a large pot, water and tongs. 

Canning:

Fill your jar with whatever you want to can, leaving about 1/2 inch at the top. Put lid on and tighten the band securely. Lower the jar(s) into boiling water, making sure the water covers the jar by about 1 inch. Boil the jar(s) for about 10 minutes. Remove the jar from the water and allow to cool on kitchen towel. At some point, you should here a sucking sound followed by a pop. This is the air leaving the jar. After the jar has cooled, press on the lid.  It should not move up and down. If it does move, the jar has not been canned properly and must be refrigerated and eaten soon. If the jar lid does not move, Congratulations! You have food that will be fresh for a year or longer. Good work.

To market, to market....

            Upon hearing about farmer's markets on Saipan, I was anxious to dig in. I walked to market with smile and green eco-bag in tow. My smile flattened when I found that none of the green, spiky produce was recognizable and I felt alien at a place where I expected to feel at home. Farmer's markets on Saipan may seem daunting, but increasingly, more familiar produce is appearing. Even the green, spiky stuff is really good if you know how to use it.

            Knowledge is power and I hope this post will encourage more Saipan cooks to venture out to farmer's markets armed with recipes and targeting unfamiliar produce. Though some types of produce on Saipan are seasonal, many others grow year-round. The photos in this post were taken on Saturday, April 7, 2012 at the Sabalu Farmer's Market on Beach Rd. across from Marianas High School. This market is open from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., but a good time to go is after 7 and before 9:30.

Breadfruit

Its name is derived from the texture of the cooked fruit, which has a potato-like flavor, similar to fresh-baked bread. Breadfruit can replace potato in almost any recipe. See this handy link for tips on how to prepare and cook breadfruit.

Jackfruit

Jackfruit is sometimes already cut up and ready to cook. Young jackfruit must be peeled and cooked though ripe jackfruit can be used in baking and cooking. Watch for upcoming jackfruit recipes!

The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy and fibrous, and is a source of dietary fibre. The flavor of a ripe fruit is similar to a tart banana.

                                                                     Soursop

Its flavor has been described as a combination of strawberry and pineapple with sour citrus flavor notes contrasting with an underlying creamy flavor reminiscent of coconut or banana. Soursop goes great with anything dairy. Last christmas, I made soursop jam to send home to the fam. This was the kind of jam that does not agree with toast, but is great on ice cream or made into sorbet. You can also just peel it and eat the white flesh as is, avoiding the seeds as they are not digestible. When soursop is ripe, it should be a little soft to the touch or ask the vendors when the fruit will be ripe. They are knowledgeable and always happy to help.
Chayote

The chayote fruit is used in both raw and cooked forms. When cooked, chayote is usually handled like summer squash, it is generally lightly cooked to retain the crisp flavor. Raw chayote may be added to salads or salsas, and it is often marinated with lemon or lime juice or you can glue on googley eyes and have a blast. It can also be eaten straight, although the bland flavor makes this a dubious endeavor. See post on Chayote recipes.

Pechay (Pok Choy or Bok Choy)

When the time comes to start cooking, you'll find that bok choy is extremely adaptable. Boiling, steaming, stir-frying and even deep-frying are all possibilities. Pechay is an easy and inexpensive way to add some green to your food. It has a light flavor and is ideal lightly sauteed until wilted.


 Calamansi (Philipino Lime)

Calamansi, a native fruit of the Philipines, is the result of a rare natural cross between citrus and kumquat. They are sour and acidic and can be used in place of lemons or limes in marinades, desserts or cocktails. Note: Most citrus fruits on Saipan are green. Usually, lemons, limes, oranges and tangerines are green on the outside. Ask your vendor which type of citrus fruit they are selling because it is often difficult to tell.

Green Mango 

Sour, unripe mangoes are used in chutneys, pickles, or side dishes, or may be eaten raw with salt,chili, or soy sauce. Of course, ripe mango season is just around the corner!

                                                         Mountain Apple
                                  

 Despite its name, a ripe mountain apple only resembles an apple on the outside in color. It does not taste like an apple, and it has neither the fragrance nor the density of an apple. Its texture is similar to starfruit, and the liquid-to-flesh ratio of the mountain apple is comparable to a watermelon. The ripe fruit is perfect to eat as-is.

                                                             Tangerines

Tangerines on Saipan can be very small and are almost completely green. Flavors range from tart to sweet. The peel is often entirely separated from the fruit when ripe, making these little greenies an easy snack. Hint: Slightly rubbing the fruit between your palms before peeling can make the fruit a little sweeter and easier to peel.

                                                                 Cassava (yucca)

 Cassava can be cooked in various ways. The soft-boiled root has a delicate flavor and can replace boiled potatoes in many uses. Cassava must be cooked properly to detoxify it before it is eaten.

Local Pumpkin/Squash and local ginger                       

Pumpkin and ginger are usually always available at market. Use the local pumpkin as you would regular pumpkin or butternut squash. The local ginger is fairly mild, so you may need to use more than you normally would. See recipe share page for a great soup recipe using local pumpkin.

Winged Bean

The flavor of the beans has a similarity to asparagus and these can be prepared as you would any green bean. First, be sure to peel off the hard ends, then they can be boiled, steamed or sauteed. 

         

Plantains (cooking banana)

Plantains are treated in much the same way as potatoes and with a similar neutral flavour and texture when the unripe fruit is cooked by steaming, boiling or frying. I like to wait until the plantain is very ripe and sweet and then thinly slice and saute it in a little butter. 

Other familiar faces you will see at market       

Bananas

Avocados

Fresh Eggs

Hot peppers 

Tropical Flowers

Local Pomegranates 

Papaya (a year-round digestive aid-Yey!)

And of course coconut, cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, local lemons, and amazing hot food and baked goods ready to go.

Saipan Market Times

Saturday Sabalu Market, Susupe: 6 -11 a.m.

Tuesday Garapan Farmers Market, across from Kristo Rai church: 4-7 p.m.

Thursday Garapan Street Market (includes several fresh produce vendors): 5-8 p.m.

Special thanks to Najia Shareef for the beautiful photos!!

WELCOME

Hello to all, 
If you live on Saipan and consume food, this is the blog for you.
First, a few guidelines:
1) Importantly, this blog will work like a grocery network (see forum). Use it to let other people know if you found a treasure at an unknown market or to ask other folks where to find an ingredient you are missing.
2) Please share recipes that you have tried, loved and found all or most of the ingredients on Saipan (see forum). Saipan-friendly alternatives to some hard-to-find items are appreciated.
3) Use this blog to ask/answer questions about cooking on Saipan (again, see forum).


Please be specific in your posts.


I will periodically post information about cooking on Saipan. I welcome topic suggestions and guest cooks!

Enjoy!