I love this time of year for many reasons but not least because I can start to steer Alex towards salads. Being a Scotsman, Alex is more comfortable with “brown” food – stews, soups, curries, anything covered in gravy. But even he finds it hard to argue against the rainbow of Spring and Summer produce.

This is one of my go to salads that doesn’t just involve emptying a bag of leaves onto a plate. I love the combination of mango and chilli – mind you I love mango full stop. You can mix it up with the salad ingredients – I go for crunch but you could also include pea shoots, spinach or watercress. Adding noodles to the dish also bulks it out for a heartier meal. Add edamame beans to boost protein.

Thai Mango Salad

Ingredients:

I haven’t specified quantities – just use what you need:

Red cabbage

Spring Onions

Fresh Coriander

Mooli or Radishes

Beansprouts

Fresh mango (not too ripe, not too unripe)

Fresh Red Chilli

Red Pepper

Carrot

Method:

Wash all the ingredients that need washing.

Finely slice or julienne all of the ingredients except the coriander and beansprouts.

Move to a large bowl, add a few handfuls of beansprouts and some finely chopped stems of coriander to taste (keep the leaves for garnish).

 

Spicy Peanut Sauce (enough for a small salad)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

Squirt of Sriacha hot sauce – this stuff is hot!

1 Dsp of Agave syrup – or to taste

Juice of 1 or 2 Limes

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Splash of Sesame Oil

Splash of Rice Vinegar

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Whisk, mix or blend all the ingredients together into a smooth runny sauce (you can add water to dilute if necessary). Taste and adjust to your taste. The idea with this sauce is to combine sweet, sour, salt and heat well.

Pour the sauce over the salad and mix until everything is evenly covered.

To serve garnish with coriander leaves, and crushed peanuts.

This salad goes really well with Thai Fishless Cakes (Blog Post 6.8.20)