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Roasted Turkey Papaya Salad

Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Asian, Thai, Vietnamese
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting time 5 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Mary Tang

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

  1. In a bowl, add the turkey slices.

  2. In a separate bowl, add dissolved palm sugar.

  3. Add fish sauce, water, lime juice, oil, and smashed cloves to the mixture. Mix gently. 

  4. Pour marinade on the turkey slices, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Cook the turkey

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

  2. 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.

  3. 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

  1. Peel the papaya. Use a mandolin to shred papaya until it reaches the core. Discard seeds. Set the shredded papaya aside.

  2. In a small bowl, add dried shrimp and water torehydrate. Soak for about 20 minutes.

Making the dressing

  1. In a large bowl, add  dissolved palm sugar.

  2. 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.

  3. Add the sliced grape tomatoes. Use the pestle to lightly flatten the tomatoes to release the juice and seeds into the dressing.

  4. 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

  1. Add papaya salad to a serving platter. Top with roasted peanuts and remaining cilantro.

  2. 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.