8 ways to papaya salad this summer

Whether it's sweet and ripe or crunchy and green, there's no denying that papaya tastes just like a tropical holiday.

Som tum Source: Brett Stevens

--- Palisa Anderson is host of the brand-new series, Water Heart Food with Palisa Anderson, 7.00pm Sundays on SBS Food and On Demand. ---

While for some, ripe papaya is the taste of summer, for others it tastes like... well, feet. It's like the coriander divide all over again, only this time, it's personal.

For papaya, the issue comes down to the enzyme papain, which has a pungent smell that people report as anything from stinky feet to vomit to delicious. Some love it, others won't even walk into a store that sells it.

It's worth the waft. Papain helps break proteins down into peptides and amino acids, hence why papaya is an excellent meat tenderiser. It may also help to reduce inflammation and pain, support good digestion, and ease muscle soreness. 

Feet, schmeet, right?

The trick to neutralising papaya's overpowering scent is as simple as a sprinkle of lime juice, or eat it green.

Here's how to bask in papaya's many nutrients this summer. One taste and you'll instantly be prone on a tropical beach without a care in the world... if only, right?

Listen to Luke Nguyen

Add a little protein and make it a meal.

This vibrant Vietnamese salad is bursting with fresh flavours and half a dozen textures. Luke Nguyen's recipe contains papaya, pork belly, prawns and an abundance of fresh herbs, dressed with a zesty dipping sauce and topped with crunchy shallots and peanuts.

Prosperity is yours

This salad was inspired by Asian prosperity salads, which are traditionally shared with family for Lunar New Year to represent abundance and vigor in the year ahead. Source: Macau Gourmet with Justine Schofield

Buttery sesame paste, honey and vinegar dressing adds tartness to papaya and daikon's sweetness in Justine Schofield's revamped prosperity salad. It's as easy as throwing everything into a bowl and giving a toss.

Add a little grilled fish

If boning and butterflying the mackerel is a little daunting, then Tasmanian ocean trout fillet is an excellent substitute. Source: Ben Ward

The sweet, very-fishy mackerel is a good match for papaya's somewhat overwhelming taste. This mackerel and papaya salad with a Davidson plum dressing cooked for Palisa Anderson in her new series, Water Heart Food, is the match you need for lazy summer lunches that sparkle into dinnertime.

Bun cha cha cha

A salad this good makes you feel like dancing. Source: Kaily Koutsogiannis

Bun cha makes for perfect summer eating, with noodles, herbs and, in Angie Hong's case, a delicious green papaya salad on the side. Papaya's tartness is tempered with sugar before serving alongside a bucket load of fresh herbs and some flavoursome pork patties.

Classic Thai som tum

All over Bangkok, food vendors pound together this irresistible combination of green papaya, chillies, fish sauce and lime. Source: Brett Stevens

When you think papaya salad, you generally want to go crunchy and green. Amy Chanta's classic Thai recipe packs in hot, sour, salty and sweet flavours to wake up every sense and then some. Add protein for a main, or serve it on the side. If you head to an Asian grocer you can sometimes buy bags of the papaya pre-shredded, which makes life a bit easier.

Curry with a side of fruit

Briefly marinate the chicken in a little papaya juice to tenderise before mixing through the curry paste. Source: Loving Gluten Free

A fresh-cut papaya salsa is just the thing to serve alongside a lemongrass and coconut chicken curry. It's quick to pull together, using just three ingredients plus the essential squeeze of lime.

Pork it up

Vary the salad ingredients to suit the season (fortunately papaya is available year-round across Australia). Source: Tropical Gourmet

Only a bold dressing could take on the richness of a pork and papaya salad, so there's plenty of the ginger caramel sauce to go around. Think sweet, salty, crunchy and fresh, all at once.

Extra fruity

Think zesty, fresh and summer-y all in one bowl! Source: Feast magazine

Indonesia's rujak is basically summer in a bowl. Grapefruit, lychees, pineapple, mango, pomelo and papaya (of course) are doused in a super-spicy syrup. Think kecap manis and sambal oelek have no place in a fruit salad? Try it and forever be changed.