"This is a great big green raw salad. It takes a little work, but is absolutely delicious. Utterly perfect with salmon and prawns, or just on its own. You can use any combination of greens you like, as long as everything is completely fresh. You must not skip the garlic and shallots though; these and the tamarind dressing bring the salad alive and you won’t want to stop eating it."
Thai Green Salad
5
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- Recipe Card
Prep time 15mins
Cook time 5mins
Serves or Makes: 4
Recipe Card
ingredients
For the garnish
- 300 milliliter sunflower oil
- 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- 3 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
- 50 gram white sesame seeds
ingredients
For the salad
- 1 cucumber, peeled into ribbons
- 100 gram asparagus, peeled into ribbons
- 100 gram pak choi, finely sliced
- 100 gram green beans, trimmed
- 50 gram tenderstem broccoli, sliced
- 50 gram kohlrabi, finely sliced
- 50 gram fresh dill, pulled apart (keep the length)
- 50 gram fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
- 50 gram fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
- 50 gram fresh Thai basil leaves, roughly chopped
ingredients
For the tamarind dressing
- 300 milliliter water
- 2 tbsp tamarind paste
- 2 tbsp palm sugar, grated
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Method
For the garnish
Step 1
Pour approximately 3cm of sunflower oil into a large deep frying pan and place on medium heat.
Step 2
Using a slotted spoon, lower the garlic and shallots into the hot oil in batches. They won’t take long to crisp up and go brown. Be careful as they can turn from golden to black and burnt very fast.
Step 3
Transfer the crispy garlic and shallot garnish to a plate lined with plenty of kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Repeat the process until it is all done, working in batches to avoid lowering the oil temperature.
Step 4
In a dry pan, toast the sesame seeds. Keep a close eye on the pan so they don’t burn. Pour the toasted seeds into a spice grinder and blitz to a powder.
For the salad
Step 1
Combine all the green vegetables and herbs in a large serving bowl. Add the tamarind dressing, a liberal dose of the toasted sesame powder, and the fried shallots and garlic. Mix everything together well and serve immediately.
Dressing
Step 1
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer for a few minutes until the liquid starts to reduce and turns glossy. Stir well and set aside to cool completely.