Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Butterball. The opinions in the post are entirely my own.
Roasted Turkey Papaya Salad
This recipe features juicy roasted turkey breast slices, on top of a crunchy Thai green papaya salad. The turkey is tender and this marinade makes it garlicky and savoury. Every bite of the salad is truly an explosion of flavours and textures. This dish makes a great appetizer, as well as the main dish. I am confident that you will love this Thai-inspired recipe!
Delicious convenience
Butterball has a line called Easy Fresh that provides pre-cut pieces so you don’t need to buy a whole bird when you want to enjoy a quick turkey meal. A package of Easy Fresh turkey breast slices comes with a few pre-cut slices that are super easy to cook and can be used in a variety of dishes. These slices are amazing on their own or on top of grains and salads. The slices can be left as is, cubed or sliced thinly.
I have cut my turkey breast slices about 1 inch thick for this recipe and believe me, they were the perfect addition to the papaya salad. Another convenience is the turkey breasts are ready in less than 30 minutes, so I can have dinner on the table in no time.
Thai-inspired flavours
I love Thai cuisine and wanted to prepare a recipe that captures key flavour profiles seen in Thai cuisine including “salty, sour, sweet, bright, fresh and appetizing”. Those are words that describe this incredibly mouth-watering and eye-catching roasted turkey papaya salad!
The ingredients for the marinade are commonly used in Thai cuisine, such as fish sauce, garlic, palm sugar, and lime juice. The marinade complements the salad, which also includes fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice, as well as dried shrimp. The dried shrimp can be found at most Asian grocery stores and is a must in the salad to give it that extra umami flavour. The dried shrimp are easy to prepare as they are pre- cooked, dried, and hydrate in about 20 minutes in water. The size of dried shrimp does not matter for the recipe. It is best to keep unused shrimp airtight in the fridge or freezer. As an alternative to dried shrimp, you can use anchovy filets that are typically packed in sunflower or olive oil.
Dried Shrimp
This dish has striking bright flavours with every bite and crunch from the papaya. If summer were a dish, this would be it! I did not add Thai chilis to the recipe but have mentioned it as an optional ingredient for those who want a spicy kick!
What is green papaya?
Green papaya is the un-ripened papaya fruit and can be easily found in most Asian Grocery stores in Canada. Green papaya texture is crunchy, the colour of the flesh is a light green, and the flavour is mild, which makes it a perfect vessel for soaking up the dressing. When shopping for a green papaya, make sure it is still firm to the touch and the skin is solid green with little signs of ripening. Ripe papaya with an orange and soft flesh is not suitable for this recipe. During the chance that you cannot find green papaya at your local grocery store, kohlrabi makes a great alternative.
I will talk more about recommended tools to help you create the authentic Thai papaya salad at home.
What is palm sugar?
Palm sugar is a sweetener that is made from sap found in the flower buds of the coconut palm tree. It is the sugar of choice in Thai cuisine and is used in both the turkey marinade and the dressing. It can easily be found at Asian grocery stores and is normally sold in small circular blocks. To use, it is best to grind it down to smaller granules so that it easily dissolves. For this recipe, I have used a knife to cut the sugar block into smaller pieces (see photo below). If you use palm sugar often, I suggest creating palm sugar syrup by dissolving the sugar and water in a pot until the mixture becomes a thick syrup. Store cooled syrup in the fridge for up to two weeks. If you cannot find palm sugar, you can use golden yellow sugar, which is light brown sugar that has a similar consistency to palm sugar but with more of a pronounced molasses flavour.
Tools for making the papaya salad
How to cut the papaya
There are two ways I would recommend cutting papaya to get thin strands. The first is the knife method where you create deep vertical incisions, then use horizontal cuts to remove the papaya pieces. This method is popular amongst Thai chefs.
Cutting papaya strands with a knife
The other method is using a mandolin slicer that comes with a comb blade. The size of the julienne strips is a matter of preference. This recipe uses a comb blade that creates strands that are about 2 mm in width. I prefer the mandolin to create uniform strands.
Using a mandolin slicer
Mortar and pestle
The mortar and pestle are commonly used by chefs and home cooks in Thailand, to crush and grind ingredients into a paste or powder for various dishes. It is an excellent tool for preparing the green papaya salad to help bring out the flavours of various ingredients.
It would be ideal if you have a mortar and pestle large enough to hold about 8 cups of shredded papaya. I did not have a big mortar and used a large stainless-steel mixing bowl instead. The most important thing is to have a pestle or find a tool that is equivalent, that can help lightly pound ingredients. For the salad, the shrimp and tomatoes are lightly pounded in the dressing to bring out the flavours. The juice of the grape tomatoes adds tartness to the dressing. The combination of pounding and mixing of the dressing and papaya are essential in combining all the incredible flavours together and changes up the texture of the ingredients.
Recipe
Roasted Turkey Papaya Salad
Ingredients
- 1 package Butterball Easy Fresh turkey breast slices
Marinade
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed
- ¼ cup palm sugar, dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water
- ¼ cup lime juice plus zest (about 2 limes)
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tsp. canola oil, or oil of choice
Papaya salad
- 1 green papaya, peeled and shredded about 2 mm thick (about 2.5 pounds)
- 25 (240 g) grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 cup cilantro including stems, rough chop, reserve ½ cup
- ½ cup roasted peanuts
Papaya salad dressing:
- ⅛ cup dried shrimp, rehydrated in 30 ml water
- ⅓ cup lime juice (about 2.5 limes)
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- ¼ cup palm sugar, dissolved in 2 Tbsp. of water
- 2 Thai chilis (optional), sliced
Instructions
Turkey marinade
In a bowl, add the turkey slices.
In a separate bowl, add dissolved palm sugar.
Add fish sauce, water, lime juice, oil, and smashed cloves to the mixture. Mix gently.
Pour marinade on the turkey slices, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Cook the turkey
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Transfer turkey slices from marinade into a sheet pan. Spread turkey evenly on the pan and roast for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the breast hits 165°F.
Remove turkey slices from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice the breast about 1 inch thick or into the desired size.
Making the papaya salad
Peel the papaya. Use a mandolin to shred papaya until it reaches the core. Discard seeds. Set the shredded papaya aside.
In a small bowl, add dried shrimp and water torehydrate. Soak for about 20 minutes.
Making the dressing
In a large bowl, add dissolved palm sugar.
Add rehydrated shrimp along with the liquid that the shrimp was soaked in, and use the pestle to lightly pound. Add lime juice, fish sauce, and mix with a largespoon.
Add the sliced grape tomatoes. Use the pestle to lightly flatten the tomatoes to release the juice and seeds into the dressing.
Add shredded papaya and a half a cup of chopped cilantro. Use pestle to lightly pound the papaya and use a spoon to mix and turn all ingredients in the bowl until the dressing and ingredients are evenly distributed.
Plating
Add papaya salad to a serving platter. Top with roasted peanuts and remaining cilantro.
Top with roasted turkey breast slices.
Recipe Notes
The turkey can be grilled instead of roasted. If using Thai chilis, add them at the same time as the dried shrimp when making the dressing. The chilis should be pounded with a pestle.
For alternatives to dried shrimp, you can use 2 anchovies. For alternatives to green papaya, you can use 2 kohlrabis for the recipe.
Roasted Butterball turkey breast slices
Roasted turkey papaya salad
For other Butterball turkey recipes, check out:
- Chinese-Style Turkey Sheet Pan Dinner (recipe here)
- Chinese Turkey Lettuce Wraps (recipe here)
- Grilled Turkey and Asian Pesto (recipe here)
- Soy Sauce Turkey (recipe here)
- Dark Soy and Honey Glazed Turkey (recipe here)
- Easy Chinese 5-Spice turkey (recipe here)
For more turkey recipe ideas, head to https://www.butterball.ca/recipes/
Follow Butterball on social media:
- Instagram: @Butterball_CA
- Facebook: Butterball Canada
- Twitter: @Butterball_CA
- Hashtag: #ButterballEasy
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Butterball roasted turkey papaya salad Pinterest
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