Chicken cakes with papaya sauce

July 31, 2008

The papaya is an exotic tropical fruit with a sweet, juicy flavour. It has orangey red flesh. It comes from a soft-wooded herbaceous perennial that lasts around five years. These plants grow about four metres high, usually as a single stem.

Papayas pack a nutritional punch, being rich in vitamin C, folate, and potassium. They are also good sources of fibre, vitamin A, vitamin E, the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, and lycopene.

Papayas are sometimes confused with pawpaws, which are larger and have a distinct yellow flesh. The fruit is harvested when most of the skin is a yellowish green. It will ripen at room temperature in a few days.

Fruit picked too green won’t ripen off the tree. However, green papayas can be julienned and make an attractive addition to a predominantly green salad. They are the only natural source of papain, an effective natural digestive aid, which breaks down protein and cleanses the digestive track.

Ripe papayas can be peeled and served on their own with a squeeze of lime juice. They also make a good base for a sauce to go with today’s diet-friendly chicken cakes which are baked, rather than fried.

Chicken Cakes

750g minced chicken
2 medium carrots, grated
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander
1 tablespoon finely chopped mint
1 teaspoon chilli paste
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 egg

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly to combine. Using your hands will give a smoother end product. Alternatively, put the mixture in a large plastic bag and massage till everything is mixed.

Line a shallow-sided baking tray with lightly oiled foil. Using an ice cream scoop, spoon up the mixture and turn out onto the foil and pat down slightly to flatten the top. This mix will make about a dozen chicken cakes.

Bake in a pre-heated 200C oven for 20 minutes till the tops are beginning to brown lightly. Turn over and cook a further 5 minutes.

Serve with papaya sauce and lime cheeks.

Papaya Sauce

1/2 ripe papaya
1/2 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chilli paste
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped mint
salt to taste

Peel the papaya and puree in a small food processor – you will need about 1 cup of pulp. Add the tamarind concentrate, mirin, lime juice, chilli and sugar, and process again briefly. Stir in the mint and season to taste.

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