one filipino dish a week

Life caught up with me this week and I didn’t have much time to research and prepare for a full dish. I did, however, make some atsara (or achara). Atsara is a green papaya relish. It’s a side dish/condiment served to compliment a main course. Growing up I loved atsara especially when eaten with a good filipino-style bbq. Actually, this is really really good with any grilled meat. The sweet and sour flavor compliments that smoky burnt meat flavor.

I made atsara for the first time a few months ago and found out that it was fairly easy to make. When I was at the Asian grocery I saw the green papaya and I immediately grabbed one. This is how I made it:

1/2 green papaya grated
1/2 red pepper julienned
1/2 green pepper julienned
2 inch piece of ginger julienned
1 medium carrot grated
1 small onion julienned
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons coarse sea salt

After grating the papaya, I squeezed the juice out of it. I think it would make it easier if I had a cheesecloth but I just used my hand to squeeze it out. In a medium saucepan, mix the vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring the mixture to a boil. Drop in the papaya, lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Mix in everything else, turn the heat off, cover and allow to cool. Easy! Bottle it up in a nice sealed glass container and refrigerate. Serve cold… that’s the way I like it. I’m not sure if room temperature is more accurate. The last time I made atsara it lasted in the fridge for a couple of months.

This particular batch turned out to be really good. I tried it a little warm a little bit after I made it and it was real good. I tried it again after it was in the fridge overnight with some pork chops that the Roommate made and it was delicious!