A TRADITIONAL THAI SALAD
Super fresh and full of brightness!
Pomelo salad is one of my favorite Thai dishes. It's a fruit-based salad in a tart, spicy, sweet dressing. It's filled with fresh herbs like mint & coriander, and have a lovely variety of textures from the pomelo, coconut, and nuts.
I love using my nam prik as the dressing when I have it on hand but I have included a simple dressing below.
This salad is traditionally made with Pomelo but if you don't have access to it, you can use grapefruit as the perfect replacement.
Doing a Whole30 and can't have peanuts? swap them out for toasted cashews or chopped almonds!
This salad can be served as a side dish or as a meal on its own. If you are having it as a meal you want to make sure you add a good protein source. Simply cooked prawns, shredded chicken, and pan-fried tempeh all work really well!
If you are serving it as a side dish, pair it with one of these flavorful Thai mains!
Pomelo Salad – Yam Som-O
A delicious traditional Thai salad
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pomelo, flaked by hand into small chunks. (1 Pomelo gave me approximately 600g of fruit or ~3 cups)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
- 1/3 cup roasted and crushed peanuts
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 Kaffir lime leaves, stems removed, very thinly sliced
- 1 stalk lemongrass, outer hard layer removed, very thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup packed mint leaves, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 Thai bird's eye chili (or to taste), finely chopped
- 1.5 tbsp date paste (traditionally uses palm sugar)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (use red boat brand for Clean-in-15 & Whole30 and Vegan fish sauce for vegetarian/vegan)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste (or 1 tsp tamarind concentrate)
- For a more authentic dressing, make my Nam Prik Sauce and use 3 to 4 tbsp
INSTRUCTIONS
- Peel your pomelo and discard peel. Working with one section at a time, use your hands to peel off the pith, leaving just the pale green or pink fruit. Gently break apart the fruit. I wish there was an easy way to do this, but you just gotta get in there and get your hands dirty. This is the hardest part of making the salad!
- Heat a skillet or wok over medium heat. Add coconut and toast, stirring constantly, until golden brown and fragrant, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Place peanuts in a mortar and use a pestle to grind them until they are in coarse, uneven pieces. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, just roughly chop them with a knife.)
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Thinly slice your red onion
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Finely chop your lime leaves and lemongrass. (Note: Kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass can be a bit tough if left in large pieces, so be sure to slice these very finely.)
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Roughly chop your mint and cilantro.
- For a more authentic flavor follow my recipe for Nam Prik, otherwise follow the below steps for a faster dressing.
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In a mortar and pestle, grind the chilis into a paste.
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Add the chili paste to a bowl along with date paste, fish sauce, and lime juice and mix.
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Taste the dressing and adjust as you’d like, adding more of any of the components. Set aside.
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At this point, all of the ingredients can be stored separately for up to a day.
Before serving, combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine. Serve immediately. -
