What would you do with the papaya you mistakenly pick coz you thought it is already ripe?

I initially know two ways to eat papaya – eat as is when its already bright orange in color (fully ripe) or eat as an achara (pickled) when unripe. Never had any idea that it can be used for tinolang manok or even pair it with chicken for curry dish.

Not wasting a very hard, unripe papaya, chicken curry was in my mind considering I have FlyAce Corp and Jolly’s Coconut Cream on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2-4 pcs chicken thighs
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 whole onion, minced
• ginger, sliced or powder
• 1 whole red pepper, sliced
• unripe papaya, peeled, deseeded, chopped
• curry powder
• soy sauce (optional)
• salt
• pepper
• fish sauce

Instructions:

1. Heat pan and put olive oil
2. Fry the chicken until brown.
3. Set the chicken aside to saute garlic, onions, ginger. You may want to add soy sauce for flavor.
4. Put in bell pepper.
5. Add the papaya and half of the coconut milk. Simmer it for 30 minutes or until the chicken is done and the papaya is soft. You may want to add water to adjust its thickness.
6. Add the remaining coconut milk and curry powder. Simmer it for 10 minutes.
7. Season with salt, pepper and fish sauce to taste.

For an added kick, you can add more curry powder. Ours is just mild since the kids love to eat this dish too.

Enjoy.