This salad recipe is adapted from the book “Maae Khruaa Huaa Bpaa” (แม่ครัวหัวป่าก์), published in 1971 as a memorial for Jao Jaawm Phit (เจ้าจอมพิศว์). Jao Jaawm Phit was the daughter of Thanpuying (Lady) Plean Passakornrawong, who was a pioneer of noble Thai cuisine.
The salad’s complex flavors include intensely citrus-perfumed som saa peels, poached pork, soft gelatinous pork skin strips, and naturally sweet shrimp – bonded with a sweet and sour thick tamarind dressing, and bejeweled with a nutty peanut crunch, sweet crispy deep-fried shallots and golden garlic.
The dish is easy to prepare. Featuring som saa (ส้มซ่า, bitter orange or marmalade orange; scientific name: citrus × aurantium), this citrus fruit of Indian origin is in season from the beginning of the rainy months until winter. It is used as a flavoring agent or an herbal medicine that acts as a stimulant and an appetite enhancer.
Incorrect username or password.
Incorrect username or password.
Som saa’s juice, its essential oils and its rich unripe green peel were common ingredients in both the savory dishes and desserts in the culinary repertoire of Siamese society’s elite in the early- to mid-1900’s. It is used in recipes such as yam phiu sohm saa (ยำผิวส้มซ่า), phat mee kraawp (ผัดหมี่กรอบ), massaman curry (แกงมัสมั่น), sai graawk bplaa naaem (ไส้กรอกปลาแนม) and gaaeng jee juaan (แกงจีจ๋วน), just to name a few….
Layering flavors is an important characteristic of Thai cuisine, so it is not unusual to use more than one souring agent to achieve a pleasant harmony of several sour flavors; this generates an even more interesting experience as opposed to a monotone flavor with a fixed focal length.
In addition to lime and tamarind, other fruits and young leaves are widely used for their tartness, namely green mango, kaffir lime, madan (มะดัน Garcinia schomburgkiana), dtaling bpling (ตะลิงปลิง Averrhoa bilimbi), som saa (ส้มซ่า) marian plum (มะปราง bouea macrophylla), asam gelugur (ส้มแขก), ragam (ระกำ salacca), kumquat (ส้มจี๊ด), hog plum (มะกอก Spondias mombin) som men (ส้มเหม็น green mandarin orange) and even tomatoes.
Nowadays, som saa is mainly grown in the Nonthaburi and Nakhon Pathom provinces. Both provinces are renowned for their fruit orchards.
In the 17th century, Simon de la Loubère, a French diplomat, describes the fertile land laying to the west of the Chao Phraya River. (Description du royaume de Siam, Simon de la Loubère, 1687-1688)
The fruit orchards were in that era referred to as the inner and outer gardens. The inner gardens (suaan nai สวนใน) covered the area west to the Chao Phraya River, in what is today Nonthaburi province. The outer gardens (suaan naawk สวนนอก) were further west, and spread from the Mae Klong River in Amphawa district of Samut Songkhram Province to Ratchaburi province.
In 2011, Thailand suffered severe flooding that destroyed mature fruit trees across vast areas of Nonthaburi. The devastated farmers who had relied on the profitable durian trade for their livelihood – a tree that requires more than a decade to mature and bear fruit – turned to growing som saa as an alternative crop.
This, and the increasing popularity of traditional Thai food, have brought som saa back into the spotlight – and into upscale markets.
Cooking tips:
- Select unripe som saa with a deep green color.
- Poach the pork with pandan leaves and salt. This will improve its aroma. Do not overcook.
- Always use freshly roasted peanuts, as well as homemade deep-fried shallots and garlic.
Add your own recipe notes
You must be a member to use this feature
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon bitter orange (som.saa)(ส้มซ่า) Bitter orange peel, shredded (from 1 fruit)
- 5 shrimp (กุ้ง) cooked (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup pork belly (เนื้อหมูสามชั้น) poached
- 1/3 cup pork skin (หนังหมู) poached and cut into thin strips
- 1/2 cup crispy fried shallots (หอมแดงเจียว)
- 1/3 cup crispy fried garlic (กระเทียมเจียว)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted roasted shelled peanuts (ถั่วลิสงคั่ว) crushed.
Salad Dressing
- 2 tablespoons tamarind paste (น้ำมะขามเปียก)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (น้ำปลา) + 1 teaspoon
- 4 tablespoons palm sugar (น้ำตาลมะพร้าว)
- 1 tablespoon water (น้ำเปล่า)
Instructions
- Poach the pork belly and skin with pandan leaves and salt without overcooking; cut into small pieces.
- Boil the shrimp; cut into small pieces and place in a mixing bowl together with the pork belly and pork skin.
- Over low heat, simmer palm sugar with two tablespoons of water.
- Add fish sauce.
- Add tamarind paste.
- Simmer until the sauce thickens.
- Select deep green unripe som saa fruits. Wash thoroughly and peel.
- Finely slice the som saa peel and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add crushed ground peanuts and som saa peel to the pork and shrimp.
- Add crispy deep-fried shallots, crispy garlic, and the dressings.
- Mix and serve immediately.
Thai Salad of Chicken and Seven Vegetables Blanched in Coconut Milk and Served With Sour-Salty and Sweet Coconut Curry Dressing, Crispy Fried Shallots and Roasted Sesame Seeds
(yam thawaai ; 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.
Naam Phrik Lohng Reuua (Boat Embarking Chili Relish), Relish of Fermented Shrimp Paste Relsih with Sweet Pork and Crispy Deep-Fried Fluffy Fish – (น้ำพริกลงเรือต้นตำรับ ; naam phrik lohng reuua)
Naam phrik lohng reuua (น้ำพริกลงเรือ) – Literally translated as “boat embarking chili relish”, this particular boat seems to have drifted a long way from port and these days, the actual dish served in Thai restaurants is far away from the original version. We want to tell you the real story behind this dish and to present you with the original version’s recipe in its true character – as if the boat is still moored at the dock.
Fermented Rice Noodles, Shrimp and Pork Appetizer Dressed with Fried Chili Jam and Peanuts
(ขนมจีนญี่ปุ่น; Khanohm jeen Yee Poon)
Khanohm jeen yee poon is an appetizer consisting of a small roll of fermented rice noodles laid on a green lettuce leaf and topped with a slice of cucumber and cooked shrimp and pork belly, dressed with sour-sweet and salty fried chili jam, sprinkled with roasted peanuts and decorated with coriander leaf and a thin julienne of fresh red chili pepper. A squeeze of fresh lime juice is applied just before eating the dish.
It is believed that this dish was introduced to the Siamese royal cuisine in the middle of the seventeenth century by Portuguese traders. Later, along with other egg yolk-based golden sweets like the golden drops (thong yot ทองหยอด), golden flowers (thong yip ทองหยิบ) and golden threads (foi thong ฝอยทอง), these royal desserts were passed to commoners outside the court.
For the marzipan filling I am using, beside the mung beans, both the flesh and the water of fragrant young coconuts. It gives a rich, sweet and almost nutty flavor which works perfectly with the silky texture of the mung beans and the creamy golden egg yolks coating.
Gaeng Som Recipe, Thai Sour Curry Recipe of Shrimp, Okra and Roselle Leaves
(gaeng som maawn gra jiiap goong)
สูตรทำแกงส้มมอญกระเจี๊ยบกุ้ง
Gaeng som recipe: Sour curries are without doubt one of Thai cuisine all-time favorites, free from foreign influence and with many regional variations they present a complex balance of four flavors while using only few ingredients, all find a pleasing harmony in one dish.
There are the sourness of the tamarind paste, the saltiness of the fermented shrimp paste and fish sauce, the natural sweetness of the prawns and the vegetables and of course the peppery heat from the chilies. This easy curry paste is as rich as it is simple; the flavor offers a world of depth in a truly innovative combination of flavors.
Get Access – Join Thaifoodmaster Today
Practical and kitchen-tested recipes with a mix of theory, history, psychology, and Siamese culture tidbits.
Access to Thaifoodmaster’s constantly growing library of prime professional classes, articles, recipes and videos on Siamese culinary topics, available nowhere else in English.
Gain access to NEW MONTHLY masterclasses as they become available.
1-1 support from Hanuman to help you achieve your professional Thai culinary goals
The opportunity to join a monthly live two-hour videoconference where I can answer your questions.
one year access for the price of 3 days in-person training.
You will get everything you need to:
When you design or build a new menu for an event or restaurant or even prepare for dinner with friends.
Finally !
Master your Thai cooking skills and expand your repertoire.