Nộm Đu Đủ Bò Khô

The Hanoi pavement salad of shredded green papaya with chewy dried beef, roasted peanuts, and rau răm, dressed with a dark sweet and sour sauce

Origin: Hanoi & the Red River Delta

From the journey of Papaya.

The north calls a salad nộm and the south calls it gỏi, and this one is northern to the bone. It is sold on low plastic stools around Hoàn Kiếm lake, on a street so associated with it that people name the street and the dish interchangeably, and it is assembled in about forty seconds: papaya from a heap, a pair of scissors through the dried beef, peanuts, herbs, and a ladle of dressing from a tin. It is not pounded. Unlike its relatives further west, the Vietnamese version keeps the shreds crisp and separate and leans on two things they do not have: bò khô, beef simmered with star anise, lemongrass, and five spice and then dried until it is dark and chewy, and rau răm, Vietnamese coriander, whose soapy pepperiness is the note people remember. The dressing is thinner and darker than a Thai one, sweet and sour and garlicky, and a little of it is poured on at the moment of serving so the salad never sits wet. Green papaya of this kind is cheap, keeps in the heat, and does not need cooking, which is most of why the street food of the region is built on it. It gives crunch and takes flavour, and it contributes almost nothing of its own, which in this dish is exactly what is wanted.

Ingredients

Salad

500 g green (unripe) papaya, peeled, seeded, and finely shredded
1 small carrot, finely shredded
1 tsp salt
150 g Vietnamese dried beef (bò khô), cut into strips
1 large handful rau răm (Vietnamese coriander) leaves

To Finish

4 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly crushed

Dressing

3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp caster sugar
4 tbsp water
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 bird's eye chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp lime juice

Method

Toss the shredded papaya and carrot with the salt, leave for 15 minutes, then rinse and squeeze dry.
Warm the fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, and water together until the sugar dissolves, then cool and stir in the garlic, chilli, and lime juice.
Spread the papaya and carrot on a plate and lay the strips of dried beef over the top.
Tear over the rau răm, spoon on about half the dressing, and scatter with the peanuts.
Serve with the rest of the dressing in a bowl alongside.

Notes

Bò khô is sold vacuum-packed in Vietnamese shops. Beef jerky is a reasonable stand-in if it is not sweetened with anything other than sugar. Rau răm has no real substitute. Mint with a few coriander leaves gives a different but workable salad.

The Gastrographer

Name: Nộm Đu Đủ Bò Khô
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Hanoi & the Red River Delta
Ingredients: 500 g green (unripe) papaya, peeled, seeded, and finely shredded; 1 small carrot, finely shredded; 1 tsp salt; 150 g Vietnamese dried beef (bò khô), cut into strips; 1 large handful rau răm (Vietnamese coriander) leaves; 4 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly crushed; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 3 tbsp rice vinegar; 3 tbsp caster sugar; 4 tbsp water; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 bird's eye chillies, finely chopped; 1 tbsp lime juice

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control