Green-Papaya Salad

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons shrimp paste (shrimp paste)
• 16.5 inch pepper flakes fresh red sliced
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce dried
• 1.5 lb cucumber green seedless
• 3 tablespoons juice of lime fresh
• 0.8 teaspoon salt 
• 0.3 cup shallots halved lengthwise thinly sliced
• 2.5 teaspoons sugar 

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• oven
• sieve
• aluminum foil
• colander

Directions

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Wrap belacan tightly in foil and bake 10 minutes. Open foil carefully and cool belacan to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Crumble belacan into mini food processor and finely purée with chiles and sugar.
3. Soak shrimp in 1 cup hot water in a bowl until soft, about 10 minutes.
4. While shrimp soak, stir together salt and 1 cup cold water until salt is dissolved, then add shallot and soak 5 minutes.
5. Drain shallot in a sieve and pat dry.
6. Drain shrimp in a colander and pat dry. Pulse shrimp in cleaned mini processor until finely ground.
7. Peel, halve, and seed papaya (or cucumber).
8. Cut into large pieces, then cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks with slicer.
9. Stir together lime juice, sugar, and 1 tablespoon sambal belacan in a large serving bowl until sugar is dissolved.
10. Add shrimp, shallot, and papaya, tossing to combine well.
11. *Available at Southeast Asian markets and templeofthai.com.
12. Sambal belacan keeps, covered and chilled, 3 months.