Vietnamese Papaya Mango Salad with Vegan Fish Sauce

This vibrant vegan Vietnamese Papaya Mango salad is naturally sweet, crunchy, deceptively light, and filling at the same time. The key to this delicious salad is using fresh, high-quality ingredients. 

Vietnamese Papaya Mango salad

 

Tiff’s Vegan Fish Sauce Dressing

I did not think it was possible but I have finally developed a vegan fish sauce recipe that not only lives up to the original fish sauce but it is made with ingredients you probably already have at home. The soy sauce and white distilled vinegar create the salty base, while the sugar and lime provide a boost of sweetness and acidity to the sauce. The spicy Thai bird eye chili peppers and earthiness from the minced garlic brings all the flavors together. This vegan fish sauce can be whipped up in 2 minutes! 

A few notes

  1. Please refrain from adding all the vegan fish sauce to the bowl to keep the salad fresh unless you will be eating the entire salad that day. As a pro tip, keep the vegan fish sauce in a separate jar and add only as needed. 
  2. It is important to use fresh green papaya and not orange papaya. Green papaya is picked way before it matures while the orange papaya is fully mature. You can buy green papaya at your local Asian grocery store in the produce section. 
  3. For ease and convenience, I highly recommend using a julienne peeler. This is one of the best tools to use in the kitchen and I can’t recommend it enough! 
  4. Feel free to use king oyster mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms if you do not have access to oyster mushrooms. 
  5. This salad will last 3 days in the fridge, any longer and it will get tired and lose its flavor. 

This Vietnamese Papaya Mango salad is: 

Super Flavorful

Easy

Fast

Refreshing

Vegan

Healthy

Naturally Sweetened

& So Tasty! 

Please let me know if you gave this recipe a try. Leave a comment below or tag a photo on Instagram @tifflovestofu. I’d love to see or hear how it turned out for you.

Vietnamese Papaya Mango Salad With Vegan Fish Sauce

Prep Time

10 min

cooking time

5 min

Servings

6

total time

15 min

Difficulty

Ingredients

1
Salad
2
1 green papaya (julienned)
3
4 carrots (julienned)
4
1 cup roasted peanuts
5
1 lime (halved and squeeze the juice into the bowl)
6
1 ripe mango (cut into cubes)
7
5 oz oyster mushrooms (cut into bite-sized pieces)
8
1 tbsp salt
9
1 tbsp pepper
10
3-4 mint sprigs (cut chiffonade style)
11
3-4 mint sprigs (cut chiffonade style)
12
cTiff’s Vegan Fish Sauce
13
2 tbsp sugar
14
2 tbsp soy sauce
15
2 tbsp water
16
2 tbsp white distilled vinegar
17
1 lime
18
5-6 fresh Thai bird eye chili peppers (roughly chopped)
19
4 cloves garlic (finely minced)

Cooking Instructions

1
Step 1
Wash all the herbs and vegetables thoroughly. The best way to wash the mint is by soaking in a bowl of water, draining the water, and repeating it 2-3 times until the water runs clear. Thoroughly rinse the green papaya, carrot, mango, oyster mushrooms.
2
Step 2
Prepare the mint, green papaya, carrots, and mango and add to a large bowl. Refer to the video on the cutting method.
3
Step 3
The green papaya and carrots can easily be julienned with a julienne peeler. To cut the papaya: cut off an inch of the ends and halve it lengthwise. You should find white seeds indicating it is not ripe yet which is perfect. If you find black seeds, it means your papaya is ripening and should be eaten as soon as possible. Scoop out and discard the seeds and peel the papaya skin. With your julienne peeler, shred the papaya until you can no longer shred it anymore. Repeat with the other half.
4
Step 4
To cut the mango: start cutting the mango on both sides away from the pit. You will end up with three pieces: 2 side halves and the middle section (the pit). Grabbing one of the side pieces in your hand, gently make crosswise cuts in the flesh being careful not to cut yourself. Next, invert the mango so that the flesh sticks out like a hedgehog. From here, you can cut off the pieces into your bowl.
5
Step 5
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan and add the mushrooms, salt, and black pepper. Pan fry for about 3-4 minutes or until the mushrooms have shrunk to half its size. Allow the mushrooms to cool down for a few minutes before adding it to the salad bowl with the other herbs and vegetables.
6
Step 6
While the mushrooms are cooling down, prepare the vegan fish sauce by combining sugar, soy sauce, water, vinegar, juice of a lime, chili pepper, and garlic in a glass container. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Feel free to adjust according to your preferences. If you like it sweeter, add more sugar. If you like salty, add more soy sauce.
7
Step 7
Combine the mushrooms with the herbs and vegetables and mix with clean hands (or salad servers). Serve with 2-3 tbsp of the vegan fish sauce and shallots. Serve immediately or refrigerate for an hour if you prefer a cool salad. Enjoy!
8
Step 8
Optional: Thinly slice one shallot and pan fry in a 1 cup of vegetable oil until the shallots are golden, about 7-8 minutes. Drain the oil through a fine-mesh sieve and lay the fried shallots on a paper towel covered plate to allow the paper towel to absorb the remaining oil. Add the shallots to the salad as needed.
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ABOUT AUTHOR
Hi, I'm Tiff!

Tiff Loves Tofu is a blog all about simple and delicious plant-based recipes, largely influenced by my culture and life experiences. I hope to show people that cooking wholesome, vibrant plant-based meals is not only easy but it is loads of fun. So, let’s get cooking!

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