Mixed Vegetable and Fruit Salad dressed with Tamarind, Palm Sugar and Sesame Seeds (Yam Pak)

While not every suggested vegetable is necessary, a good selection gives a rounded balance to the salad.

Serves 2 or 3 (with rice and the other dishes such as Grilled Omelette (Kai Bpam) and Jungle Curry of Salted Beef with Thai Basil and Green Peppercorns (Geng Bpaa bai Madan Neua Kem))

A mixture of some or all of the following

a handful of mixed herbs, e.g. mint leaves, dill sprigs and Thai, holy and lemon basil

30g sliced yam bean/jicama

2 tablespoons sliced green beans

1 tablespoon shredded pak chi farang/long-leaf coriander

flesh from ½ small green mango, shredded

2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and finely sliced

1 apple aubergine, sliced

4 kaffir limes leaves, shredded

½ star fruit/carambola, elegantly sliced

2 red shallots, thickly sliced

For the dressing

70g dried tamarind pulp

2 tablespoons light soy sauce (the Thai brand Som Bun is the one I use)

200g palm sugar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

2 tablespoons deep-fried shallots

To garnish

3 deep-fried large, dried red chillies, coarsely crushed

To make the dressing, soak the tamarind pulp in 60ml water for a few minutes to soften, then squeeze and work the pulp to dissolve it. Strain the liquid (discard the fibres and seeds in the sieve). Put the resulting tamarind water and light soy sauce in a bowl, add the palm sugar and stir to dissolve. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until fragrant and golden; allow to cool. Crush the sesame seeds with the deep-fried shallots in a pestle and mortar, then stir into the tamarind mixture. The dressing should taste sweet, sour and only very slightly salty. It might be necessary to lighten with a few tablespoons of water.

Combine the prepared fruits and vegetables in a bowl. Toss with all the dressing (this is quite a wet dish) and serve, sprinkled with the crushed deep-fried chillies.

Mixed Vegetable and Fruit Salad dressed with Tamarind, Palm Sugar and Sesame Seeds (Yam Pak)