Difficulty Level: easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 6 qts water
• 1-2 lbs. pork butt shoulder
• 2-3 smaller papayas or one larger papaya cut into pieces. (you can use the green papaya)
• 1 inch piece of ginger in large slices
• handful of peanuts (the amount can vary based on how much you like peanuts)
• 3 or 4 dried jujubes for some added sweetness

Preparations:

1. Rinse the jujubes well and soak for about 30 minutes
2. Cut pork butt shoulder into cubes. I generally cut into 1 inch cubes. The cubes need not be perfect and can be cut into any size you prefer.
3. Slice ginger.
4. Peel the papaya, cut into halves, and scoop out the seeds. Then cut the papaya into pieces.

Cooking:

1. Combine all ingredients, except the papaya, in a pot
2. Bring to a boil
3. Turn down the heat and simmer for an hour
4. Add the papaya and simmer for another hour
5. Serve

Notes, hints, and substitutions:

• This recipe can be doubled.
• Feel free to substitute pork for other meat. The idea is to cook the papaya in a meat broth. Others use fish, chicken, and beef. You can also mix two meats for a richer broth.
• Jujubes are also sold as chinese dates. In place of jujubes, you can probably use other types of dried fruit that are used as a sweetener, such as dried plums (aka prunes).
• You can use either ripe (yellow) or green papaya, or a mix. I prefer using both ripe and green papaya.
• If you add in fresh mushrooms, add them in the last 30 minutes or so. Shitake and oyster mushrooms are both great additions to this soup.
• Note: this dish is commonly served to nursing mothers. You might wish to avoid it if you are pregnant. I was told green papaya helps contract the uterus and lessen water retention after child birth. On the other hand, if you are nursing (or cooking for a nursing mother), you might wish to try this.
• Another variation of Papaya Soup can be found at: http://wokkingmum.blogspot.com/2008/04/papaya-soup.html