This sweet, sour and savoury Thai pomelo salad is a refreshing side dish that’s good for you inside and out.
Known as Yum Som-O, this delicious pomelo salad is an authentic Thai dish. It’s a perfect pairing to balance out the heavier Thai curries and main dishes. It goes well with other cuisines too as a side salad. Watch the video below for how to make this pomelo salad.
Thai Pomelo Salad Ingredients
- Pomelo
- Coconut Sugar
- Fish Sauce
- Lime Juice
- Shallot
- Dried Shrimp
- Roasted Peanuts
- Cilantro
- Mint
- Lemongrass
- Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
- Bird’s Eye Chili
- Kaffir Lime Leaves
Preparing The Ingredients
Most of the ingredients in this pomelo salad recipe are quite straight-forward, but a few of them require a little explanation. Here are some tips for preparing the ingredients.
- I use unsweetened shredded coconut and toast them in a pan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously to not burn the coconut, for 6 to 8 minutes, until they are brown and the nutty fragrance comes out.
- When using lemongrass, peel off the outer tough layers first. Thinly slice the tender bottom part of the inner stalk, and discard the woody top portion.
- Cut the kaffir lime leaves along the stem in the middle, and discard the stem. Roll up the leaves and slice them into thin strips. (See video)
- You will need to use a coffee grinder to break down the dried shrimps into shrimp fluff.
What is Pomelo And How to Peel It
Pomelo is a nutritious citrus fruit popular in Asian countries. It’s tangy, refreshing, and sweet with a touch of floral note. Pomelo is high in antioxidants, nourishes the lungs, regulates blood sugar, and improves the skin. It is a beauty food that will give you radiant skin, because the nutrients in pomelo can reduce acne, inflammation, prevent aging, and stimulate collagen production.
To peel a pomelo, slice off the top of the fruit with a knife, then score the peel down the side of the fruit leaving about 1 to 2 inches between cuts. Dig under the peel with your fingers to pull them away, then remove the remaining pith. Break the pomelo in half, and then separate all the segments. Peel away the membrane around each segment, and keep only the flesh part for this recipe. I like to break the flesh into 1-inch bite-sized pieces.
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Thai Pomelo Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups pomelo flesh broken into 1-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon dried shrimp
- 2 tablespoon crushed roasted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh mint
- 1 stalk lemongrass trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 to 1 bird's eye chili or to taste; thinly sliced
- 3 kaffir lime leaves stem removed and thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium-low heat. Add shredded coconut into the pan. Stir continuously, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the coconut flakes are brown and the nutty fragrance comes out.
- In a coffee grinder, pulse the dried shrimp until the texture turns into a fluff.
- In a large bowl, mix coconut sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Whisk until the sugar is fully dissolved to make a dressing.
- Add the pomelo chunks into the bowl. Then add the rest of the ingredients: shallot, shrimp fluff, peanuts, cilantro, mint, lemongrass, coconut flakes, bird's eye chili and kaffir lime leaves.
- Toss all the ingredient together and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- I like my pomelo salad light and refreshing. Personally I like to go easy on the bird's eye chili, so that the spiciness doesn't overpower rest of the flavours.
- Taste the pomelo to get a sense of the sweetness and acidity levels. You may need to adjust the amount of sugar and lime juice accordingly.
Nutrition
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