19 SEPTEMBER 2018 ∞ BY LINA S DELA ROSA

Thai-Style Green Apple Salad

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We love Thai food and me and hubby frequent the Thai restaurant near our home. One lunchtime, Kelvin decided to try their whole fried crispy fish served with green apple salad on top. The fried fish and fresh salad go so very well together that I was inspired to re-create it in our kitchen. I remember, growing up in Manila, my mum makes a similar salad using green mango with shrimp paste or fermented fish.

Since the green mango is not always available here, the crunchy and tart green apple is a great alternative. If you want a punchy heat on your salad, don’t be shy to add red chillis and red onion.  I like to sprinkle lots of roasted peanuts on top for the added crunch and flavour. You may omit the peanuts if you have allergy concerns with a guest or family member.

Coriander is my favourite herb. I love the bold lemony-taste flavour and aroma. I know many people don’t like it and if you’re one of them, you can substitute it with mint for freshness. The dressing is simple to make. You only need 3 ingredients, lemon juice, sweet chilli sauce and fish sauce.  I used the sweet chilli sauce as a sweetener in place of sugar.  The salad goes very well with roasted, barbequed or fried meat too.

THAI-STYLE GREEN APPLE SALAD

Serves 3-4 persons.

INGREDIENTS

For the Salad:

• 2 big green apples, cut into strips

• 1 big tomato, seeded, cut into strips

• 1 cup coriander, loosely packed, roughly choppped

• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

• half of small red onion, thinly sliced (optional)

• 2-4 red chillis, thinly sliced (optional)

For the Dressing:

• juice of 1 big lemon

• 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

• 1 tablespoon fish sauce

The dressing will make about less than 1/2 cup. I usually use only 1/4 cup of it and reserve the rest. Pour 1/4 cup on the salad first and taste before you add more. If you don’t have fresh lemon at hand, you can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.

DIRECTIONS

1) Combine green apples, tomato, coriander, onion and chillis in a bowl.

2) For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, sweet chilli sauce and fish sauce in another bowl.  Mix very well.

3) Pour the dressing over the salad and toss.

4) Transfer the salad on a platter.  Sprinkle peanuts on top.

5) Serve immediately with your favourite fish or meat dish.

Cut the green apples into thin strips.

Mix the ingredients for the dressing.

Chopped salad ready for dressing.

Tomatoes can be substituted with shredded carrots. I also like adding fresh green beans, cucumber strips or chopped iceberg lettuce for more bite. The dressing is very versatile. You can use it as the dipping sauce for fried spring rolls, Vietnamese rice paper rolls and roasted meat or fish. Raid your fridge crisper and make your own salad tonight for a healthy meal accompaniment!

Now, I’m salivating as I finish this post. Let me know what you think.