• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Devour.Asia

Devour.Asia

Better Asian recipes for home cooks

  • Recipes
    • Cuisine
      • Chinese
      • Japanese
      • Korean
      • Thai
      • Vietnamese
      • Taiwanese
      • Filipino
      • Indonesian
      • Malaysian
      • South Asian
      • Fusion
      • Street Food
    • Ingredient
      • Poultry
      • Seafood
      • Meat
      • Rice & Grains
      • Noodles
      • Vegetables
      • Tofu
      • Mushrooms
      • Bread
      • Eggs
      • Fruits
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Snacks
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Main Courses
      • Side Dishes
      • Sweets
      • Drinks
  • Kitchen
  • Stories
  • Cuisine
    • Chinese
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Thai
    • Taiwanese
    • Filipino
    • Indonesian
    • Malaysian
    • South Asian
    • Fusion
  • Main Ingredient
    • Poultry
    • Seafood
    • Meat
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
      • Noodle Soups
      • Noodles Stir Fry
      • Instant Noodles (Ramen)
    • Vegetables
    • Mushrooms
    • Tofu
    • Bread
    • Eggs
    • Fruits
  • Course
    • Breakfast
    • Snacks
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Main Courses
    • Side Dishes
    • Sweets
    • Drinks
  • Street Food
  • Kitchen Tales
  • Food Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
You are here: Home / All Recipes / Vietnamese-style Papaya and Mango Salad

Vietnamese-style Papaya and Mango Salad

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
Semi-ripe papaya, cucumber, mango, lettuce, toasted cashew nuts and sesame seeds are tossed with a light dressing to make Vietnamese-style papaya and mango salad.
It's inspired by one of the dishes we made in the farm-to-table cooking class in Vietnam. When we were prepping the salad in class, our instructor reminded us that there's nothing strict about the mix of ingredients. We could substitute green mangoes for the papaya, for instance, or add other vegetables. This is the result of those reminders.
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Course Salad
Cuisine Vietnamese
Servings 4 people
Vietnamese-style Papaya and Mango Salad Recipe
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

For the dressing

  • 1 and ½ tablespoons calamansi juice (or lemon or lime juice), freshly squeezed
  • 1 and ½ tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 and ½ tablespoons sugar
  • 1 generous pinch minced garlic
  • 1 generous pinch finely chopped chili

For the salad

  • ¼ cup chopped nuts (peanuts are more traditional but I used cashew)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • ½ semi-ripe papaya
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 ripe mango
  • 1 handful lettuce

Instructions
 

Make the dressing

  • Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a small jar with a screw-on cap. Put on the cap and tighten. Shake the contents gently until the sugar is fully dissolved. Sat aside to infuse.

Toast the nuts and sesame seeds

  • Heat a frying pan. Spread the cashew nuts and toast, tossing the pan occasionally, until lightly browned.
  • Add the sesame seeds to the nuts and continue toasting until both nuts and sesame seeds are nicely browned. Set aside to cool.

Prep the fruits and veggies

  • Peel the papaya. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Thinly slice the papaya flesh then cut the thin slices into strips no more than a quarter of an inch wide.
    Remi-ripe Papaya for Vietnamese-style Papaya and Mango Salad
  • Split the cucumber into halves. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut in the same way you cut the papaya.
    Julienned Cucumber for Vietnamese-style Papaya and Mango Salad
  • Cut the mango and discard the stone. Score both “cheeks” thinly then separate the strips by scooping our shallowly with a spoon.
    Cutting a Fresh Mango for Vietnamese-style Papaya and Mango Salad
  • Rinse the lettuce. Dry in a salad spinner. Cut the leaves into half-inch slices.

Assemble the salad

  • Place the papaya, cucumber, mango, lettuce and half of the nuts and sesame seeds in a mixing bowl.
  • Drizzle in half of the dressing and toss lightly but thoroughly.
  • Taste. Add the rest of the dressing, if you prefer.
  • Divide the salad among four bowls or plates. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Keyword Salad
Vietnamese-style Papaya and Mango Salad
More Vietnamese food
Pork and Mushrooms with Thai Basil Garnished with Fried Shallots and Cilantro

Pork and Mushrooms with Thai Basil

Phở Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup) Recipe

Phở Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

Beef and Mustard Greens Wrapped in Rice Paper Recipe

Beef and Mustard Greens Wrapped in Rice Paper

Published: March 14, 2019 • Last modified: July 4, 2021 ♥ All Recipes, Fruits, Fusion, Salads
Further Reading
Fried and skewered quail eggs. Tamsui Old Street, Taiwan

Quail Eggs in Asian Cuisines

Coffee class at The Yellow Chair, Saigon

How to Grade Coffee and Make Cà Phê Đá: A Coffee Class in Saigon

Popcorn in bowl

How to Cook Regular Popcorn in the Microwave

Sidebar

Experience Asia

At Balaw-balaw, a museum of wood sculptures

Interpreting Folk Art at Balaw-Balaw Museum

The Great Buddha Hall at the Tōdai-ji Temple Complex in Nara

At Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara, I Touched Buddha’s Nostril

Deers roaming freely in Nara Park

In Osaka, When You Ask for Directions, the Locals Won’t Just Point — They Will Walk You to Your Destination

Backpack made of hemp

Hemp, Local Artisans and Thoughtful Consumerism

Laguna de Bay

Laguna de Bay: You Don’t Pronounce “Bay” as in Manila Bay

  • About
  • Privacy
  • Archive

Except for the occasional stock photo and blockquote, everything © Devour Asia. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.