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Basic Yum

Beef or Seafood Salad

Yum literally translates as ‘tossed’ or ‘mixed together’. By that virtue, you can make a yum out of almost anything, as long as it tastes titillating. These salads are not mellow, cooling dishes of leaves with a mild dressing. They cross the gamut of flavour.

Here is a recipe for a basic beef or seafood yum. The dressing can be customized to suit your palate.

Serves 4–6

2 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

a pinch of caster (superfine) sugar

1 small red chilli, crushed or ½ tsp chilli powder

300–350 g/10½–12 oz rare grilled steak or grilled mixed seafood

2 Thai shallots or ½ onion, peeled and sliced

3–4 small tomatoes, quartered

½ handful Chinese celery or coriander (cilantro) leaves

lettuce leaves, to serve

Stir together the lime juice, nam pla, sugar and chilli or chilli powder in a large bowl, then toss together with the beef or seafood and the rest of the ingredients. Line a serving plate with lettuce leaves and pile the yum on top. Serve at room temperature.

Yum Mamuang Nai Muang

Green Mango Salad from Old Chiang Mai

I’ve adapted this recipe from a version made by a young woman I met in the weekend market in the heart of Chiang Mai’s old town. It’s simple, refreshing and delicious, and has become my go-to version. I love her addition of deep-fried crispy fish. Buy them dried and fry them off yourself, replace them with deep-fried dried baby squid or leave them out altogether.

This goes beautifully with Peek Gai (Chicken Wings, see here), Moo Yang Pee Kay (My Grilled Pork, see here) and Moo Khum Lanna (Lanna-style Grilled Pork, see here).

Serves 4–6

1 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp palm sugar

1 tsp tamarind paste (purée, optional)

1 green mango, peeled and grated in strips

3–4 Thai shallots or 1–2 regular shallots, peeled and finely sliced

a good pinch of chilli powder

1 tbsp dried fried whitebait/anchovies/Bombay duck or 4–6 dried baby squid (optional)

1 tbsp toasted cashew nuts or peanuts (optional)

coriander (cilantro) leaves, torn, to garnish

In a large bowl, mix together the nam pla, lime juice and palm sugar until combined and the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the tamarind, if using. Gently mix through the rest of the ingredients and serve straight away, garnished with the coriander.

Yum Hua Plee

Banana Blossom Salad

I think this dish is very special, not just because banana blossoms are in themselves so beautiful, but because it is one that redefines the notions of balance that people ascribe to Thai cooking.

The sweetness here comes not just from sugar but from the pork and the prawns. The sourness comes not just from the lime juice but from the subtle bitterness of the banana blossom. Its complexity delights.

You will find banana blossom at most good Asian supermarkets. Look for one that is nice and firm to the touch, and with as little discolouration as possible. If they don’t look good, make something else!

Serves 4–6

1 banana blossom

1 tbsp lime juice, plus extra for acidulating soaking water

1 tbsp vegetable oil

100 g/3½ oz minced (ground) pork

100 g/3½ oz raw prawns (shrimp), peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp coconut cream

4 tbsp coconut milk

1½ tsp palm sugar

1 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

1 tbsp nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste, see here)

2 Thai shallots or 1 regular shallot, peeled and finely sliced

1 stick lemongrass, finely sliced

1 mild red chilli, finely sliced

to garnish

1 tbsp unsalted cashew nuts, roasted

1 tbsp deep-fried shallots (see here)

a handful of fresh mint leaves

a handful of fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves

Take the coarse outer leaves off the banana blossom and save the best looking ones for presentation. Then, slice the rest of the blossom and soak it in acidulated water to stop it discolouring.

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and sauté the pork and prawns until cooked, about 1–2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a non-reactive bowl, mix together the coconut cream and milk, palm sugar, nam pla, nam prik pao and lime juice to make a dressing. Add the cooked pork and prawns and mix them through the dressing gently. Then, add the shallots, lemongrass and red chilli, and mix gently.

Drain the sliced banana blossom, pat dry with paper towels, and stir through the rest of the mixture. Pile the mixture into the outer blossom leaves, scatter with the cashews, deep-fried shallots, mint and coriander, and serve.

Yum Haew

Water Chestnut Salad

At first glance, this recipe seems to involve a lot of prep and wok-ing, but it’s actually very do-able and well worth the effort. It’s a very old dish, and based on a version in Sibpan Sonakul’s Everyday Siamese Dishes, the very first Thai cookery book written in English, and featuring food photography from the late King Rama IX of Thailand. I find its combination of flavours and textures very satisfying. It’s also not spicy, just piquant, making it a useful yum to bring some balance to a meal.

Serves 4–6 as a part of a larger meal

1 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

½ tsp caster (superfine) sugar

1 tbsp lime juice

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp finely chopped garlic (about 2–3 cloves)

2 tbsp finely chopped shallots (about 1–2 shallots)

2 tbsp minced (ground) pork

2 tbsp minced (ground) prawns (shrimp)

200 g/7 oz (drained weight) canned water chestnuts, drained, rinsed and finely sliced (see tip)

2 tbsp cooked crab meat

1 tbsp pickled garlic, finely chopped

2 large red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced

a handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves

Mix the nam pla, sugar and lime juice together. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a wok until it’s almost smoking, and fry the garlic until it’s golden, stirring it in the oil all the time to stop it burning. Remove and set aside to drain on paper towels. Wipe out the wok, add another tablespoon of oil, and repeat the process with the shallots, cooking them until they’re brown and crispy. Set aside to drain.

Wipe out the wok again. Heat another tablespoon of oil and stir-fry the pork until it’s cooked. Remove and set aside. Wipe out the wok, add the final tablespoon of oil, and repeat the process with the prawns.

In a large bowl, mix together the cooked pork and prawns with the water chestnuts, crab and pickled garlic. Add half the fried shallots, fried garlic and the sliced chillies, followed by the nam pla dressing and gently mix together.

Turn out on to a nice serving dish, sprinkle with the remainder of the fried shallots and garlic, some coriander leaves and the remaining sliced chillies.

~ Quite often, you can only find cans of sliced water chestnuts. These work perfectly well for this salad. Just drain, rinse and pat them dry, and you’re good to go. ~

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Yum Tua Plu

Winged Bean Salad

As much as I love this dish, it’s not one I make very often because a) it requires quite a lot of effort, and b) it’s hard to find good-quality winged beans. They just don’t travel well. But, when you find them, it’s really worth it. It is pretty spectacular. If you can’t find them, but the mood to make this strikes you, you can always substitute them with runner (string) beans or, better still, asparagus.

Serves 4

100 g/3½ oz pork steak

vegetable oil, for basting and deep-frying

a pinch of salt

50 g/1¾ oz raw prawns (shrimp), peeled

1 tbsp dried prawns (shrimp)

2 tbsp unsalted peanuts, roasted

2 tbsp grated coconut, toasted

200 g/7 oz winged beans, trimmed and finely sliced

1 tbsp coconut cream

for the dressing

4 tbsp nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste, see here)

2 tsp palm sugar

2 tsp lime juice

2 tsp nam pla (fish sauce)

you will also need

3 wooden satay sticks or skewers, soaked in cold water

Heat a griddle (grill pan) until hot. Rub the pork steak on both sides with a little vegetable oil, season with salt and cook on both sides until it is cooked through. Set aside to rest.

Thread the prawns on to the soaked satay sticks/skewers, rub them with vegetable oil, and griddle (grill) them until they’re just done. Set aside to cool.

In a small pan, heat a 2.5-cm/1-inch depth of oil until very hot, then deep-fry the dried prawns until golden brown. Set aside to drain on paper towels. When they are cold, grind them up in a pestle and mortar until they are almost completely powdered. Then add the peanuts and grind them coarsely.

Now make the dressing, whisking all its ingredients together in a small bowl until thick and well combined. Taste it for balance – it should be rich, salty, sour and sweet. Then stir in 1 tbsp of the toasted coconut.

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and blanch the sliced winged beans for about 30 seconds, then refresh them in iced water to stop them cooking. Drain, dry with paper towels and place them in a large mixing bowl.

Thinly slice the pork steak and add it to the winged beans. Cut the cooked prawns in half lengthways, and add them too. Finally, add the dried prawn and peanut mixture and the dressing, and bring the salad gently together with your hands.

Turn it out on to a serving plate, drizzle with the coconut cream, sprinking with the remaining toasted coconut, and serve.

Soop Nor Mai

Pickled Bamboo-shoot Salad

No, it’s not a soup… it’s actually a salad. This northeastern dish, fragrant with fresh herbs and toasted rice, has a very particular smell, which I immediately associate with Thailand, and which never fails to make me feel hungry.

If you possibly can, avoid the canned bamboo shoots for this dish. Instead, look for the ones in jars with bai yanang leaves, which I prefer, or ones which have been vacuum-packed.

Serves 4–6 as a part of a larger meal

2 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

2 tbsp lime juice (roughly ½ a lime)

4 tbsp stock (chicken or vegetable)

¼ tsp caster (superfine) sugar

1–1½ tsp chilli powder

½–1 tsp roasted chilli flakes

200 g/7 oz bamboo shoots, shredded

4 Thai shallots or 2 regular shallots, peeled and finely sliced

2–3 spring onions (scallions), chopped

2 tbsp ground, toasted rice, plus extra to serve

a small handful of coriander (cilantro), torn

a small handful of mint, torn, to garnish

In a saucepan, mix the nam pla, lime juice, stock, sugar and the two kinds of dried chillies over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Then, bring it to the boil.

Turn down the heat and add the bamboo shoots, shallots, spring onions, toasted rice and coriander. Stir together to heat through, then turn out into a bowl.

Allow the salad to cool slightly. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary – it should be hot, sour and salty. Serve, sprinkled with extra toasted rice and the torn mint.

Yum Kratiem

Garlic Salad

Mali Tiaree, who runs Puong Thong Restaurant in Chiang Mai with her daughter Anchalee, is one of my absolute Thai Food Heroes. She has spent many a painstaking hour (on her part) being patient with my farang ways. Gently chiding me, sometimes downright slapping my hand if my paste-pounding became slack, and generally giving generously of her time and knowledge.

If ever you’re in Chiang Mai, please seek them out. The restaurant’s right on the banks of the Mae Ping on the Chang Khlan Road, just around the corner from Rati Lanna Riverside Spa, which any tuk-tuk or taxi should know how to find.

Bear in mind that Mali cooks everything from scratch, so make sure you’re not in a hurry. It’s worth the wait.

Suffice to say, I’m thrilled that Mali gave me this recipe. I had never eaten this dish before I visited Puong Thong. I have never had it anywhere since. Thank God for it.

Serves 4

oil, for deep-frying

10–15 g/¼–½ oz cashew nuts (about 10)

2 large dried chillies

125 g/4½ oz raw prawns (shrimp), peeled with tails left on

75 g/2½ oz squid, cut into rings

2 Thai shallots or 1 regular shallot, peeled and finely sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

4 Thai bird’s eye chillies,

juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar

crisp lettuce leaves, to serve

In a wok, heat a 2.5-cm/1-inch depth of oil to about 170°C/340°F. Deep-fry the cashew nuts and chillies until the cashews are golden brown. Remove from the oil, and set aside to drain on paper towels.

Fry the prawns, until they have just turned pink and are cooked. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Turn down the heat. You want to cook the squid ‘chai wellah’, using time. It’s a slow, almost desiccating process. Deep-fry the squid slowly, moving it around all the time, until it’s crisp and dry and deep gold in colour. It takes longer than you think and, of course, depends on the size of your squid rings, so a minute-by-minute timing will not help you. Be guided by the colour and texture. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Put the shallots, garlic and coriander into a mixing bowl. In a pestle and mortar, roughly pound the chillies. Add the lime juice, nam pla and sugar. Stir them together until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the shallot mixture and stir through. Snip the dried chillies into 2.5-cm/1-inch pieces. Add to the mixture along with the nuts and the seafood. Stir gently to combine and serve on a plate lined with lettuce leaves.

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Laarp Isaan

Northeastern-style Laarp

Laarp can also be referred to as a salad by virtue of its being served frequently in lettuce leaves. This is a simple recipe for a basic laarp from northeastern Thailand, the region known as Isaan. It’s the laarp most Westerners are familiar with – sharp, hot and salty, with the bite of chilli and fragrance of toasted rice.

Feel free to substitute the duck with pork, chicken or rabbit – just make sure you cook them through. Firm tofu can also be used, as can mushrooms for non-meat eaters.

Serves 4 as a part of a meal

225 g/8 oz lean duck, chopped or minced (ground)

1 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

1½ tbsp lime juice

½–1 tsp roasted ground chilli powder

4 Thai shallots or 2 regular shallots, finely sliced

1 stick of lemongrass, trimmed and finely sliced

1 tbsp toasted rice powder (see tip)

a handful of mint leaves, torn

lettuce leaves, to garish

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the meat. Bring the water back up to the boil, cooking the duck to your liking: it will take just 1 minute or so for it to be pink, a bit longer if you want it done through. When the duck’s cooked, scoop it out into a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add the remaining ingredients to the duck, and mix together well.

Turn out on to a plate lined with the lettuce leaves, and serve.

~ To make the toasted rice powder, take a large handful of uncooked sticky rice (or normal Thai jasmine rice, if necessary). Place it in a dry wok or frying pan (skillet) over a low heat and toast it, moving it all the time, until it smells nutty and has turned a dark golden brown. Grind it up in a spice or coffee grinder, or in a pestle and mortar. Then keep in a jar and use as required. ~

Laarp Kua

Northern-style Laarp

Traditionally, this is made with pork, pork offal and blood, which is earthy and delicious. Sometimes, decent pork liver is hard to come by, so I came up with this version, based around ingredients I could easily find. If you feel, after the first time you’ve made this, that you’d like it to be hotter, add more dried bird’s eye chillies.

If you want to try it with pork and pork offal, use the same ratio as below.

Serves 4–6

for the laarp kua spice mix

1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns

1 tsp coriander seeds

4–6 dried Thai bird’s eye (bird) chillies

1 tsp black peppercorns

3–4 green cardamom pods

2 star anise

½ cinnamon stick

1 whole nutmeg

2–3 cm/1 inch mace

3–4 Indian long peppercorns

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp salt

for the laarp

300 g/10½ oz minced (ground) duck

75–100 g/2½–3½ oz chicken or duck liver, trimmed and chopped

1 tbsp laarp kua spice mix (left)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

4–6 small garlic cloves, peeled, smashed or roughly chopped

1–2 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

4–6 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

2 spring onions (scallions), chopped

a handful of coriander (cilantro), torn

a handful of mint, torn

2–3 dried chillies, deep-fried, to serve

To make the laarp kua spice mix, toast all the dried spices in a dry pan until fragrant. Set aside to cool. Then, with a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, grind them together with the salt until they are as fine as possible. You should end up with about 4 tbsp of the mixture, which will keep in a clean jar for at least 1 month.

Mix the duck and the liver together with 1 tbsp of the laarp kua mix, and set aside to macerate.

Heat the oil in a wok until hot. Add the garlic and stir-fry until it’s golden and crispy. Set aside on paper towels. Add the meat and the liver to the oil, and stir-fry until nearly done, about 2–3 minutes. Add the nam pla, and stir in the lime leaves, the spring onions and half of both the coriander and mint. Take off the heat, add half of the fried garlic and stir it through. Turn out on to a serving plate and top with the remaining herbs, garlic and the deep-fried chillies.

Serve with lettuce leaves, cabbage wedges or green beans and kap moo (Pork Scratchings, see here).

Ruan Urai’s Raw Tuna Laarp

Tucked down a small soi, or street, just off the mad bustle of Surawongse Road, in the midst of Bangkok’s entertainment district, sits a haven of calm: Ruen Urai restaurant. It is set in a century-old teak house, tucked behind the mid-century Rose Hotel, and serves the most splendid Thai food. It’s very much on my ‘must eat here’ list, if anyone asks.

The present owner, Dr Tom Vitayakul, was kind enough to give me the recipe for this laarp. I order it every time I go. Now, thanks to him, I can make it at home any time I like.

When I was testing it, I debated doubling the amount of tuna, but I’ve left it at just the 100 g/3½ oz here, because I think this dish is very rich, and it’s enough. But if you want to make more, the recipe doubles easily.

Serves 2–4

1 tsp roasted dried chilli powder

1 tsp toasted rice powder (see tip on here)

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

1 tbsp finely sliced Thai shallot

1 tbsp finely sliced spring onion (scallion)

1½ tsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

1½ tsp chopped fresh mint, plus extra leaves to garnish

100 g/3½ oz raw tuna, finely diced

2–3 small dried chillies, fried, to garnish

In a non-reactive bowl, mix together all the ingredients apart from the tuna until evenly combined. Then add the fish, and work it through the mixture. Turn out on to a serving plate, and garnish with fresh mint leaves and fried dried chillies.

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Let’s cut to the chase: I could have called this chapter ‘salads’. And all of them are, after a fashion. But it’s probably best to paraphrase Bones from Star Trek and say: ‘They’re salads, Jim, but not as we know ’em.’

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On Yums, Laarp and Tums

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Of the three, yums are probably the most diverse. You can make a yum out of almost anything. Some are fiery, some are delicate; some are simple, some are complex. Of the ones in this book, which are among my favourites, I particularly point out the Yum Kratiem (Garlic Salad, see here). Its name translates as a garlic salad; in fact it is a medley of seafood, garlic, cashews and spice in which squid is deep-fried at a low temperature for much longer than you’d expect until it’s crisp and almost dried – a texture Thais adore.

Laarp can also be referred to as a salad by virtue of its being served frequently alongside lettuce leaves. I include three variants here, and there are many more, which can be found across the north and northeast. In Laos, they make one with raw buffalo meat seasoned with a little of its bile. Since those ingredients are hard to find, I have not included it here. But trust me when I tell you: it’s delicious.

Som Tum Thai (Green Papaya Salad, see here) is probably the most famous of all the tums, adored across Thailand and beyond. But it is by no means the only pounded salad. There are many, including one made with sliced raw green banana, which is… interesting. The Thais have a word, faadt, which describes that puckering, almost mouth-drying feeling you experience when drinking very tannic wine. This is the most faadt thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. So I’ve chosen to leave it out. But I have included other tums here, if only because the green papaya required to make som tum is an expensive ingredient, which is why you frequently find som tums cut with grated carrot. Not traditional, but a way to get by.

Som Tum Thai

Green Papaya Salad

Although a northeastern Thai dish, som tum is now ubiquitous across Thailand. Small wonder – it’s fresh, feisty and delicious. There is also no definitive recipe. Each vendor brings their own touch and adapts it to each customer, often asking if you want it hot, spicy, sweet or sour. That said, this is adapted from a verbal recipe given to me by Khun Nok who works with her husband at their grilled chicken stall in Chiang Dao.

You will need a large pestle and mortar to make this. If it’s made of wood, so much the better.

Photographed with sweetcorn on here, top right.

Serves 2–4

1 tbsp dried prawns (shrimp)

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2–6 Thai bird’s eye chillies, roughly sliced (depends how hot you like it)

1 tbsp unsalted roasted peanuts, plus extra to garnish

a good handful of grated green papaya, about 120 g/4 oz

2–3 green beans, roughly sliced

1–2 medium tomatoes, quartered, or 4–5 whole cherry tomatoes

for the dressing

1 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp palm sugar syrup (see tip) or 1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar

First, mix the dressing ingredients together, and taste for balance. If you want it sharper, add more lime; sweeter, more sugar; saltier, more nam pla. Set aside.

In a dry pan, fry the dried shrimp over moderate heat until they are just crisp. Set aside on paper towels.

In your pestle and mortar, pound the garlic and chillies just enough to break them up. Then add the peanuts and dried shrimp and pound until the nuts are loosely broken. Now add the papaya. Using the pestle and a spoon, pound and lift the papaya, mixing the other ingredients through it. Add the beans and tomatoes, and pound and mix until well incorporated. Add the dressing, and pound and mix again. The process should take no more than 5 minutes.

Turn the salad out on to a plate, garnish with the remaining peanuts, and serve.

~ To make palm sugar syrup, dissolve 4 tbsp of palm sugar in 4 tbsp of water over a low heat. Do not let it boil. Then set aside to cool. Strain it through muslin (cheesecloth) to remove impurities, and store it in a sterilized jar until you need it. ~

Som Tum Kowpot

Sweetcorn and Papaya Salad

You’ll often find this variant made at the height of sweetcorn season. Grill a de-husked ear of sweetcorn on the barbecue (outdoor grill) or a griddle (grill) pan, turning often to make sure it cooks evenly, about 15 minutes. Cut the sweetcorn from the cob with a sharp knife. Then make the som tum as above, removing about 80 g/2¾ oz of the papaya from the recipe, and replacing it with the same amount of sweetcorn.

Tum Tua Yao

Pounded Long Bean Salad

Traditionally, this is made with long beans, which you can often find in Asian supermarkets. But green beans or runner (string) beans make a very good substitute, and most people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

The real key to this dish is not so much the beans as the pla ra, a thicker, more pungent variant of fish sauce from Isaan that is made of freshwater fish fermented with rice. My local Thai supermarket has a sign on its shelf saying ‘this is not your regular fish sauce’. They’re right: it’s funkier, particular, and key to the broader range of Isaan’s pounded salads.

Photographed with cucumber on here, bottom right.

Serves 2–4

4 Thai bird’s eye chillies

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 tsp caster (superfine) or palm sugar

½ tsp kapi (shrimp paste)

300 g/10½ oz long beans, trimmed and cut into 5-cm/2-inch pieces

6 cherry tomatoes

juice of 1 lime

1½ tsp nam pla (fish sauce)

1 tbsp pla ra (Isaan fermented fish sauce)

In a large pestle and mortar, pound the chillies, garlic, sugar and kapi loosely. Add the beans and pound gently, turning with a spoon so they are all bruised slightly. Add the tomatoes and pound again, gently. Add the lime juice, nam pla and pla ra. Pound and stir to make sure everything is well amalgamated. Turn on to a plate and serve.

Tum Tang Kwa

Pounded Cucumber Salad

This was Mum’s favourite thing to order when the Tum Man came down our soi. It is almost identical to the tum tua yao, above. To make it, replace the green beans with the same amount of cucumber, quartered lengthways, then cut into 0.75-cm/¼-inch slices. Give the cucumber a good pounding before adding the tomatoes which, in this case, I like to halve.

You may also like to add 2 tbsp dried prawns (goong haeng), pounding them into the salad at the same time as the chilli and garlic. In this case, pound the solid ingredients first, then add the kapi and palm sugar second. As an extra treat, you can also serve it with a peeled and quartered salted egg on the top. The combination of textures is very satisfying.

Tum Mamuang

Pounded Green Mango Salad

Again, this has almost exactly the same dressing. Simply replace the green beans with a good handful of grated green mango. Make the salad in exactly the same way. Serve with the Moo Waan (Sweet Pork, see here), if you like. What a flavour bomb!