This is just something I threw together for lunch the other day. The ingredients are so perfect together. Having said that, there’s lots of room to play around with this no-recipe recipe. Grilled scallops or cuttlefish would make a great substitute for the shrimp. I can also see small pieces of white fish, lightly-battered and deep-fried, in this in lieu of the grilled seafood (the end result would closely mimic the much-loved Yam Pla-Duk Fu). Cashew is the best nut for this salad, but peanut would be nice also.
Just for kicks, add a tablespoon of Nam Prik Pao to it.
Green Mango Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Cashews
(Makes 4 salads or 2 entrées)
Printable Version
One large green mango (tips on how to pick one), peeled and grated into long, thin slices
One pound of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
10-12 small dried red chilies (or red pepper flakes, to taste)
3/4 cup roasted cashews, preferably unsalted
One large shallot, peeled and sliced lengthwise very thinly
1/4 cup roughly-chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons fish sauce, divided
Fresh lime juice
somewhat unrelated question: do you really eat the dried chili that is pictured? cus that’s a lot of heat.
when i lived in manila, i befriended a thai girl and her mom made a green mango snack on day. just slices of these incredibly tart un-ripe fruit and we dipped it in a sugar/fish sauce concoction. i don’t know what the ratio of the ingredients were but it was a thick syrup dip and incredibly delicious. when i see green mangos, that’s the dish i think of. i’ll think of this one too.
Angry Asian – Yes, I do. Weird thing is — once fried, the peppers aren’t that hot.
That dip is called nampla wan. Pretty easy to make.
Wow, what a lovely salad…shrimp and green mango…
I love no recipe recipes as they just start the inspiration flowing. I am now very curious about the nampla wan you mention. Will have to research that dip too.
I love your blog. It not only shows great Thai recipes (I cook a lot of Thai at home) but you give a lot of explanations, contrary to many cookbooks. Thanks for all those remarks and practice instructions.
I noticed in a more recent post that you now like tart apple better than (or as well as) green mango. Would you use a tart apple in this salad? I love this general style of SE Asian salads, but, perhaps because I was not raised with it, perhaps because I live in the rural midwest, I find the entire process of finding green mangoes and papayas and shredding them to be a little tedious. Until I read the comment from you about apples it would never have occurred to me to try one in these kinds of preparations n(which sound and look amazing, by the way). Thoughts?
Laura – I would. I totally would. Green mango is traditionally used, because that’s locally available and inexpensive. But hypothetically speaking, had tart apples been a local fruit in Thailand and Southeast Asia, they would have been incorporated into a salad like this (and some other dishes) just like other local sour fruits.
Green mangoes are usually more sour than green apples, but I like the latter for the refreshing crunch that grated green mangoes lack. Besides, as you know, green apples are a lot easier to find.
Thanks for answering so fast. I am trying this very VERY soon. SE Asian style salads, especially som tom but really any of them, are a top 5 food for me–which is saying something since all the others are not healthy lol. I wanted to suggest (in case you have not already) that you try using pie apples that come available in July in the midwest–they are super tart, not usually for eating straight. Maybe they would compare even more favorably to the green mango (although they are a local, seasonal find–I doubt you can find them in, for example, a Florida grocery store).
Leela, love this salad…the cashew is the perfect addition to the salad.