Miang Kham- Style Salad

[เมี่ยงคำ]

This vibrant Miang Kham inspired salad marries sharp grapefruit with sweet, spicy dressing, and packs a punch either on its own, or accompanied by your choice of protein or side of steamed rice.

Originating in Northern Thailand, Miang Kham, (which translates to “one bite”) traditionally comprised a combination of finely diced shallots, dried shrimps, chilli, ginger, garlic, lime, coconut and peanuts, served on a pickled tea leaf, though today, these are usually substituted for cha-plu leaves which grow in abundance during the rainy season when this dish is typically eaten.

This deconstructed version is both vegetarian and vegan friendly, but if you would rather keep it more authentic, feel free to use fish sauce & dried shrimp instead of the tamari & miso paste.

Prep 20 mins

Cook 10 mins

Serves 2-4

For the Sauce

2 tbsps of salted roasted peanuts

2 tbsps of dried toasted coconut

1.5 inches of galangal, peeled

1.5 inches of ginger, peeled

1 Birdseye chilli

1 tbsp of miso paste

1.5 tbsps of tamari

120ml of water

100g of palm sugar

For the Salad

2 red grapefruits, peeled and segmented

100g of lambs lettuce

2 x 4 inch pieces of cucumber, ribboned

24 mint leaves, coarsely chopped

2 tbsps of crispy shallots

50g of toasted coconut flakes

50g of salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 a lime, juiced

1 Birdseye chilli, thinly sliced (optional)

Instructions

For the sauce, add the peanuts and coconut to a food processor, blend until mealy and set aside for later.

Next, add the galangal, ginger, chilli, miso, tamari and half the water to the food processor and blitz until fine, and add to a bowl. Rinse the blender with the remaining water to get the bits out, then pour into the bowl. Alternatively, you can do all of this by hand with a pestle and mortar.

In a small saucepan, add your paste of galangal, ginger, chilli, miso, and tamari with the palm sugar and simmer until the sugar has dissolved and the consistency has reduced by half, stirring frequently.

Now add the ground peanuts and coconut and simmer. It is important to check for the right consistency; your sauce should have a similar consistency of a jam. If it is too thick, add a splash of water, or put back on the heat if it is too thin.

Let the sauce cool down to room temperature. You can put it near the window to cool if you don’t have much time.

Once your sauce has cooled down, you can start to assemble your salad. Combine the grapefruit, lambs lettuce, cucumber and mint, and place on a large serving platter.

Scatter small dollops of the sauce across the top of the salad. It is best to put the remainder of your sauce in a pot on the side (any left over sauce is great to keep in the fridge and can be used as a dipping sauce for spring rolls).

Sprinkle over the crispy shallots, coconut and peanuts. Squeeze lime juice over to taste, and for a little heat, sprinkle fresh chilli over the top.

Poppy MistMay 17, 2020