Thai Pomelo Salad - ( YAM SOM O )

After having that enjoyable dinner with my family at Spices restaurant at the Manila Peninsula the other night, I decided to try my version of their Pomelo Salad .... a simple and easy dish that you can do in less than 30 minutes. Let me share the ingredients I used and try it out ...

Tip: I suggest that you use the Nenita's or Dizon pomelos which are always very plump and juicy.
Tip # 2: you can buy the shredded coconut from the grocery.

INGREDIENTS :


1 pomelo ( suha )
12-16 medium shrimp, peeled
1 small to medium cucumber, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots ( red onions )
1/4 cup  chopped fresh basil ( you can also use mint leaves )
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves ( or you can use Replace the coriander with fresh parsley, tarragon, dill )
1/4 cup chopped unsalted cashews or peanuts
2 Tbsp. shredded coconut
1 red chili, minced
handful of salad greens

DRESSING:


1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
3 Tbsp. fish sauce ( patis )
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 to 2.5 Tbsp. brown sugar, to taste
1-2 tsp. Thai chili sauce, OR 1/3 to 1/2 tsp. chili flakes  ( you can buy this in the grocery )

PREPARATION:

** Boil a pot of water. Add shrimp and boil just a few minutes, until shrimp turns pink and plump and firm to the touch. Drain and set aside to cool.

** Place shredded coconut in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat and stir until coconut turns light golden brown and fragrant. Remove coconut and place into a small bowl to cool and set aside.

** Prepare your pomelo removing as much of the white peel as possible from the fruit . Break the fruit into bite-size pieces. You may not want to use all of the pomelo ( 3 to 4 cups is a good amount ). The rest can be saved for eating fresh. Set prepared pomelo in a salad bowl.

** Add other salad ingredients to the bowl: cucumber, red pepper, shallots, basil/mint, coriander, and chili. Combine all dressing ingredients together in a cup, stirring well to dissolve the sugar.

** To put salad together:

Add shrimp to the salad bowl, then pour over the dressing. Toss well to combine. Add most of the toasted coconut and nuts, reserving a little for garnishing, then toss again. Taste-test the salad for a balance of sweet/sour/spicy/salty. Adjust to your liking, adding more sugar can be added if too sour, or more lime juice if too sweet.  For more flavor, add a little more fish sauce. Your salad is now ready to serve.

It is best to prepare individual plates with a bed of greens and then top with generous portions of the pomelo salad. Top with reserved coconut and nuts.

ENJOY your salad !!!!