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Papaya milk
木瓜牛奶: ripe papaya whizzed with ice-cold milk into a thick, peachy-orange shake, the Kaohsiung night-market classic
Kaohsiung claims papaya milk as its own: the southern port city's fruit stalls, and the famous old shop on Liuhe night market's doorstep, have been blending it since the 1960s, when sweet red-fleshed papayas from Pingtung became cheap and plentiful. It is now sold all over Taiwan, a thick orange-pink shake in a tall cup, drunk on sticky evenings while walking between food stalls or in the morning with a scallion pancake. It tastes of ripe papaya and cold milk, sweet and mellow, with a smooth, slightly airy body. The classic mistake is making it in advance: papaya contains the enzyme papain, which starts working on milk proteins within about 20 minutes and leaves the drink bitter and curdled-looking. Blend it just before drinking. Your papaya is ripe when the skin is mostly yellow-orange and gives slightly to a thumb, and it smells sweet at the stalk end; it is ready to serve when it is fully smooth, foamy on top and evenly coloured. Children love it, and with little added sugar it is a fine after-school snack. Chef's tip: chill the papaya well beforehand so you need less ice and the shake stays thick.
- Total time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
- 9 oz ripe papaya fleshred-fleshed, seeds removed, chilled
- 1 ¼ cups whole milkvery cold
- 1 tbsp sugaror 1 tbsp sugar syrup; adjust to the fruit
- 4 ice cubes
- 1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk (optional)for a richer stall-style shake
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Method
0/3 doneStep 1: Peel the 9 oz ripe papaya flesh, scrape out every seed and the thin membrane around them (they taste peppery and bitter), and cut the flesh into chunks.
3 minStep 2: Put the papaya, 1 ¼ cups whole milk, 1 tbsp sugar, 4 ice cubes and 1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk in a blender and blend on high for 30–40 seconds until completely smooth and foamy on top.
1 minStep 3: Taste and add a little more sugar if the papaya was mild, blend for 2 seconds, then pour into glasses and drink straight away, within 15 minutes.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 150 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 22 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does papaya milk take?
- About 5 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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