สูตรยำต่าง ๆ Archives

Bean Sprout Salad (ยำถั่วงอก; yam thuaa ngaawk)

Bean Sprout Salad featuring blanched sprouts tossed with pounded roasted peanuts and coconut in a coconut cream-vinegar dressing. From Ibrahim's Islamic Cookbook, 1933.

Enhanced Fried Garlic with Bird's Eye Chilies and White Peppercorns (กะเทียมเจียวรสสูง; grateam jiaao rot suung)

Enhanced Fried Garlic, garlic pounded with bird's eye chilies and white peppercorns, fried in lard as a universal flavor enhancer. From Mom Ying Supha, 1949.

Yam of Chicken (ยำไก่; yam gai)

Yam gai: chicken simmered in coconut milk until dry, then dressed with mint, kaffir lime and green mango. Maawm Sohm Jeen, Tamra Gap Khao, 1890.

Green Mango Salad with Puffed Fish (ยำมะม่วงปลาฟู; yam ma muaang bplaa fuu)

Yam ma muaang bplaa fuu, green mango salad with snakehead fish grilled, air-dried, then lard-fried until puffed. Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Exotic Beef Salad (ยำเนื้อวัวพิศดาร; yam neuua wuaa phit daan)

Exotic Beef Salad featuring grilled tenderloin with daikon radish, roasted peanuts, and coconut. From Maawm Ying Soophaa's 1949 Thai royal cuisine manuscript.

c1890 Fresh roselle salad with acid-cured shrimp (ยำผลกระเจี๊ยบ อย่างท่านผู้หญิงเปลี่ยน ภาสกรณ์วงศ์ ร.ศ.๑๐๘ ; yam phohn gra jiiap;)

ยำทวาย

This recipe would probably change your perception about the term "salad", maybe because its dressing has a multi layered, curry-like personality, rather than the common sour vinaigrette-like dressing, or maybe because it takes some good few hours to prepare, somewhat longer than simply opening a bag of hydroponic greens.

This salad is the fruit of the dedication of court ladies from aristocratic households, that for centuries perfected and elaborated on the art of cooking through detailed and calculated process, to create sophisticated dishes that are not only delicious but also very healthy and visually pleasing.

These ladies made a very large commitment for small things, and they attended all their time and efforts to make minor things better and getting the small things just right.

Citrus-Infused Crumbled Duck Egg Yolk Salad (ไขเค็มพล่า; Khai Khem Phlaa)

This vibrant salad combines the richness of crumbled duck egg yolks with the zesty notes of citrus and aromatic herbs. Set against a backdrop of aromatics, the crumbled essence of cured duck egg yolks glow in a delicate orange-gold shade, evoking a shimmering sunlit dawn. The cured yolks bestow a rich, briny base that acquires even deeper undertones when seasoned with fish sauce and sugar. This base takes on a luxuriously silky texture, reminiscent of a finely whipped mousse, when mixed with juices of lime and kaffir lime, which also give the mix a crisp, clean citrusy finish.

Shan-Style Asian Pennywort Salad (ผักหนอกโก้; Phak Naawk Goh)

This Shan-style salad exemplifies both technical and compositional simplicity. The salad is prepared using a vigorous hand-squeezing technique, known as go:h (โก้) in the Shan language. This blending method, which bruises the ingredients and releases their aromatic moisture, is often used to pair the sharp taste of medicinal fresh herbs – which can carry an immediate bitterness and a certain level of astringency – with earthiness and tartness.

Mandarine Orange Peel Salad (ยำผิวส้มจีน; yam phiu sohm jeen)

Yam phiu sohm jeen features carefully prepared mandarine orange peel combined with minced shrimp and pork. From Maawm Ying Soophaa's 1949 royal Thai culinary manuscript.

c1933 Sour bilimbi fruit and crispy candied peanut salad with pork, shrimp and pork fat (ยำตะลิงปลิง ; yam dtaling bpling)

A candied peanut bar might be considered an unlikely ingredient for an old-fashioned Siamese-style salad. Yet, peanut bars were familiar to the Siamese as early as the Ayutthaya period and were part of a broader set of Teochew Chinese sweets called, in Thai, “khanohm janap (ขนมจันอับ)”.

ยำดอกขจร

The first Thai restaurant in London was opened during the 1960's by HRH Princess Jurairat Nasiriman (1910-2000) (พระเจ้าวรวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าจุไรรัตนศิริมาน), the granddaughter of HRH King Mongkut (Rama IV). Princess Jurairat chose to offer this salad on the menu and named it "Salad of Thai Milkweed Flower". (Other names: Cowslip creeper, Telosma Cordata). This fresh and tasty salad is so vibrant and easy for us to enjoy, it takes in the very basic flavors, sweet, salty, hot and sour and wrap them in a creamy coat of reduced coconut cream. The milkweed flower buds retain their crunchiness and their pleasant fragrance with only a gentle and very quick blanching in sweet boiling water.

Faux Frog Salad – A Salad of Coconut Braised Chicken with Young Coconut and Chili Jam Dressing (ยำกบเทียม; yam gohp thiiam)

Faux frog salad is a rich, elegant dish featuring tender chicken braised in coconut cream and young coconut flesh with a chili-jam based dressing. Utilizing an old-fashioned salad assembly technique – the ‘mix and layer’ – this is a visually striking salad with alternating layers of reds and whites. The name of this vintage dish – Faux Frog Salad – could be a reflection of the swinging social norms in Siam during the roaring twenties, a period of significant social change; as the country sought to navigate the challenges of modernization, Siamese society was shifting its dietary preferences away from the frog, once a common, versatile and popular ingredient. Thus, through the desire for distinction, chicken, an ingredient often compared to the taste of everything, was preferable to frog.

Angel Visiting the Chamber: A Salad of Pomelo, Pork Skin and Shrimp with Chili Jam Dressing, circa 1920s (ยำนางฟ้าเยี่ยมห้อง; yam naang faa yiiam haawng)

The name of this dish, yam naang faa yiiam haawng (ยำนางฟ้าเยี่ยมห้อง), translates to ‘Angel Visiting the Chamber Salad’ in English. This celestial salad, which originated in the 1920s, is a playful chili jam-based salad that combines the textural gradients of pomelo, with its citrusy bursts, chewy cooked pork skin, and the sweet and slightly resilient cooked shrimp meat. The pomelo’s citrusy notes are further amplified with thinly sliced lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves sliced into hair-thin juliennes. I like to adjust the sourness and sweetness of the chili jam-based dressing based on the acidity of the pomelo. As our aim is to achieve a final sour-salty and sweet flavor profile, a sour-salty dressing is suggested if the pomelo is sweet, while a salty-sweet dressing pairs better with a sour pomelo.

Khaao man sohm dtam and the first-ever recorded recipe for papaya salad (ข้าวมันส้มตำ)

Salad of smoked grilled duck breast with roasted shallots and bitter yellow eggplants (พล่าอกเป็ดรมควันกับมะเขือเหลืองและหอมเผา ; phlaa ohk bpet rohm khwan gap ma kheuua leuuang lae haawm phao)

Three Companions Fish Salad (พล่าปลาสามเกลอ; phlaa bplaa saam gluuhr)

Phlaa bplaa saam gluuhr: three grilled fish — smoke-dried, dried, and snakeskin gourami — with a tableside herb dressing. Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Trinarong salad with ruby pomegranate seeds, translucent pomelo segments, and golden fried shallots glistening with lime dressing on a white plate

c1935 Trinarong Salad - Thai Three-Fruit Yam from Pathum Thani (ยำตรีณรงค์; yam dtreen rohng)

Central-style Thai salad combining pomelo, rose apple, and pomegranate with shrimp, chicken, and pork. From Ms. Booree Thohnsak's 1935 Pathum Thani memorial cookbook.

Yam Jin Gai: A Symbol of Tradition and Family Unity (ยำจิ๊นไก่; yam jin gai)

In the mountainous region of Northern Thailand, the people share a profound connection with the spirits inhabiting the land, trees and rivers. This bond extends to ancestral spirits residing within their homes, providing protection and guidance to the family. It is believed that food is not only shared among the living but also with those who preceded us, bridging the gap between the natural world and the ethereal realm of the spirits. It is in this context that yam jin gai (ยำจิ้นไก่) holds a special significance. Once a delicacy served only on special occasions, this soup-like salad has come to symbolize the enduring bond between the people of Northern Thailand and their ancestral spirits. Families pay homage to their ancestors with offerings of food, fostering a sense of unity and connection that transcends mortality and even the present; although the dish is included on the menus of many restaurants, its roots remain grounded in the spiritual landscape of the northern forests.

Yam "Goliath Special" (ยำ "โกไลพิเศษ"; yam go:h lai phi saeht)

Yam Goliath Special: eight boiled proteins — shrimp, pork, squid — dressed with pounded coriander root and garlic. Delicious Side Dishes, 1935.

Roasted Tomato Salad, or Banana Chili Salad (ยำมะเขือเทศ (หรือพริกหยวก); yam ma kheuua thaeht)

Yam ma kheuua thaeht: flame-roasted tomatoes, peeled and seeded, dressed with ground dried shrimp and madan. Lady Gleep Mahithaawn, 1949.

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