My favorite drink – Papaya Milk [木瓜牛奶]

One of my favorite things to do when I go back to Taiwan is to drink myself silly with papaya milk. I love it. You may not like it, but I love it. And since I love it, I am posting the ever so simple recipe for it. So try it, and tell me if you love it (or hate it). Just make sure you pick a RIPE papaya-follow my instructions below.

How to pick a RIPE papaya.

1. Go to a market that sells papaya (I use Mexican Papaya)- Berkeley bowl or 99 ranch for example.

2. Don’t freak out. Look for a medium sized papaya that is really orange (preferably no green spots), pretty soft when squeezed, and STINKS when you smell it. Even a little white mold on the side or top is OK- it’ll be SWEET inside.

3. Buy and hope that it is sweet and ripe enough.

Ingredients:

1. Milk- whatever kind you want
2. Papaya, diced (see how to pick a ripe one above)
3. Optional- Sugar if you picked a not so ripe/sweet papaya
4. Blender

Ok, the instructions are so simple that you’re going to say, “Duh, anyone could have figured that out.” And to that I say, precisely. Which is why anyone can make this now!

1. Cut papaya in half, lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Then cut each half in half lengthwise again and each half again (So each half of the papaya into 4 slices). Then cut off the skin and chop into large cubes. If you picked the fruit correctly and got a sweet one, just eat and enjoy.

2. To make the smoothie, just add ~6-8 pieces of papaya into the blender, add milk (however much you want at the end) and BLEND. Taste. If it is not sweet enough add a little sugar, otherwise you can skip the sugar.