Papaya Milk: A Recipe Best Enjoyed on a Couch

Every time I go to China there are a few things that I seek out, but usually don't find a good version of....its a bit of a craps shoot when it comes to Chinese street food. Odds are much better in Taiwan (where I spent 2 years of my life as a missionary, and fell in love with the food), but I seldom have cause to go there.

One of these unbelievably awesome Chinese treats is Papaya Milk. Sounds simple, but it is usually poorly executed. Yesterday I was walking through the world famous Stew Leonard's (Guiness' world's largest dairy store), where I discovered a pile of Papayas--which, in my opinion, are relatively useless in other forms, and mysterious to most. Papayas just aren't very good on their own...but the Taiwanese taught me how to do it right.  Here it is...

1. ICE: 2-3 inches (blender) of chopped ice.

2. SWEETENED-CONDENSED MILK: About 1/5 a can of sweetened-condensed milk. (Yummmm)

3. PAPAYA: Scoop the seeds into the disposal, then spoon out one-half of a very ripe papaya into the blender. (Find one that is quite large, soft, and even showing a little bit of shriveling on its peel).

 

4. SPLENDA: Add 1-2 tablespoons of Splenda. As my amazing wife taught me: Splenda makes all fruit taste better. Period.

 

5. MILK: Fill the rest of the blender up (about one inch from the top) with milk. Whole milk to taste better--skim milk to pretend you wanna be healthy.

6. MORE ICE: This is where most of the stands on the street in China get it wrong. Make it as sweet as ayou like, but a drinks not a drink if it ain't a cold (I mean really cold) drink....and ice in China is like good street tacos in Connecticut: somewhere out there, but hard to come by.

7. BLEND IT: Keep in mind--this is not meant to be a "Papaya Shake" this is "Papaya Milk." Blend it smooth and make sure its not too thick.

 

Papaya Milk makes a for the MOST refreshing summer drink / dessert / enjoy-a-movie-kicked-back-on-your-Sactionals beverage. (That's actually exactly what I'm doing now, even as I type). I don't think the Chinese probably invented it--but I'll claim to have perfected it.

-- Shawny D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS: Wanna make it more tropical? Add some fresh mango in the 2nd batch. That's right--four of us killed the first batch and the 2nd one (with mango) was even better (according to some)....I like the original.

...More recipes to enjoy on a couch to come.

Comments

[Candis]

Hello Shawn D...Chief Sac.
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BTW - Cool blog!
Candis

[Stephen]

Very Impressive!!! Stores look great!
Stephen