Thai Pomelo Salad (Yam Sam O)

Light, refreshing, and bursting with flavour and textures, this Thai Pomelo Salad combines juicy pomelo with toasted coconut, crunchy peanuts and fresh aromatic herbs, all mixed in a tangy fish sauce and lime dressing.

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Course: Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Thai

Diet: coconut, coconut sugar, finger lime, fish sauce, lemongrass, makrut leaves, mint, peanuts, pomelo, shallot

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 5

Servings: as a side

Author: Eff | Food Daydreaming

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Dressing

1 bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped
2 teaspoons coconut sugar, or palm sugar or brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
1-2 teaspoons fish sauce

For the Salad

2 tablespoons shredded, unsweetened coconut
½ pomelo, around 2 cups, torn into chunks
2 tablespoons peanuts, roughly chopped
½ shallot, thinly sliced
Bottom half of 1 lemongrass stalk, thinly sliced
2 makrut leaves, centre ridge removed and sliced very thinly
1/3 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped

Instructions

Start by making the dressing. Using a mortar and pestle, or a sturdy spoon, crush the chilli into the sugar. Then mix in the lime and fish sauce, stir well, then taste and adjust if needed (fish sauce brands vary wildly!) by adding more sugar, lime juice or fish sauce. Set the dressing aside.
1 bird’s eye chilli, 2 teaspoons coconut sugar, 1-2 tablespoons lime juice, 1-2 teaspoons fish sauce
In a dry pan over medium low heat, dry toast the coconut until golden brown, stirring frequently. Empty the toasted coconut into a small bowl and set aside to cool.
2 tablespoons shredded
To peel the pomelo, slice away the top of the fruit, keeping some of the white pith intact. Carefully, score the pith from top to bottom around the fruit 4-6 times and use your fingers to slide between the pith and the fruit to pry the skin away. Find the segment line and pull or cut the pomelo in half. Wrap one half in cling film and store in the fridge for another recipe (or dip it in lime and chilli salt and enjoy it fresh!). Remove the membrane between the pomelo slices and gently ease out the vesicles. Set them aside in a bowl. https://fooddaydreaming.com/vietnamese-goi-salad/
½ pomelo
When you’re ready to serve the salad, place the pomelo in a serving bowl and add the toasted coconut, chopped peanuts, thinly sliced shallot, lemongrass, makrut leaves and mint leaves. Spoon most of the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine, ensuring all the ingredients are evenly coating the pomelo segments. Taste and add the rest of the dressing if needed, depending on the juiciness and ripeness of your pomelo. Serve immediately as a side or top with sauteed prawns for a main meal. https://fooddaydreaming.com/thai-style-marinated-prawns/
2 tablespoons peanuts, ½ shallot, Bottom half of 1 lemongrass stalk, 2 makrut leaves, 1/3 cup mint leaves

Cook along with me

Notes

A note on sugar for Thai dressings:
Palm sugar is the traditional sugar used to make Thai Pomelo Salad, but these compressed rounds of rock hard sugar can sometimes be hard to find and cumbersome to work with (personally, I hate the noise and feeling of grating palm sugar!). Coconut sugar (the one I choose whenever I make this salad) and brown sugar are excellent substitutes.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @food_daydreaming or tag #fooddaydreaming on instagram. I love seeing what you all come up with!

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