Not only bursting with natural flavors and texture, this mango salad recipe makes a nutritious salad dish. Perfect as a side dish or appetizer next to complement any meal.
Growing up, my mother often made this sweet and sour mango salad, often with torch ginger (her special touch). We had this huge mango tree in our front yard, when it gave fruits, it was always plenty. That’s when she made this mango salad on repeat.
As a kid who usually skipped salads, this was the one I could never resist. It could be the sweetness.
This Thai Mango Salad is now one of my favorite fruit-based salads, slightly tweaked to maximize the nutrition while keeping the flavor authentic and just like my mom made.
Watch How To Make This Thai Mango Salad.
Table of Contents
- Watch How To Make This Thai Mango Salad.
- About this Thai mango salad recipe
- Ingredient to make Thai Mango Salad with Torch Ginger
- How to slice the mango for mango salad
- Frequently asked questions
- You may also like
- Other Mango Recipe You Might Like
About this Thai mango salad recipe
It won’t take much steps to make this salad. You will need basic cutting skills, a love for sweet and sour, and maybe a bit of spicy tolerance.
And to make the best Thai mango salad, you need the right mango. The sweet but firm kind, in between young and fully ripe. This mango makes the perfect texture and flavor for an authentic mango salad.
Other ingredients, such as baby heirloom tomatoes, shallots, and coriander leaves, act as fillers, which also contribute to the flavor. What makes this mango salad special is the torch ginger – an aromatic Southeast Asian herbal flower packed with flavor and anti-inflammatory properties.
Etlingera elatior (scientific name), also known as torch lily, wild ginger, or Philippine wax flower.
All seasoned with classic Thai staple flavorful ingredients – freshly squeezed lime juice, tamarind paste, all-natural red boat fish sauce (the extra-virgin fish sauce).
To me, good salads are the ones that combine whole foods rich in antioxidants, seasoned with natural ingredients, which, when combined, make the perfect balance of flavors.
Sometimes, healthy and delicious don’t go together, but that is not the case with this mango salad recipe, as the majority of the ingredients are nutrient-packed and flavorful. You might need to read the label on a few ingredients that come in the packaging to make sure they are as natural as they can be.
Ingredient to make Thai Mango Salad with Torch Ginger
1. Mango
The flavor of Thai mango salad depends on how good the mango is. Find the type of sweet mango that is slightly firm, between young and ripe age. Avoid the sour kind. This type of mango is usually green on the outside but sweet and crunchy on the inside. Feel free to ask the seller if you’re not sure.
2. Torch Ginger Flower
This aromatic herb is native to Southeast Asian countries, especially Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. It’s commonly used in salad, soup, and stew. This flower is a part of the ginger family and contains high anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
I understand this ingredient might not be globally accessible, so feel free to skip it if you can’t find it. There is no substitute for this ingredient.
3. Tamarind paste
Tamarind paste adds sourness to food and balances the sweetness of the mango. Find all-natural tamarind paste or in a pulp form to keep this mango salad nutritious. You can find it in Asian markets.
4. Roasted nuts
Roasted almonds (garnishing) – Common Thai mango salad recipes use peanuts, but I swap peanuts for almonds because I like the taste better. Plus, they are more nutritious as they contain healthy fat, calcium, and antioxidant properties. Feel free to omit if you’re allergic.
5. Tomatoes
I use heirloom cherry tomatoes as it sweeter than normal ones and are higher in antioxidants called lycopene. Since this recipe is made without sugar, these small tomatoes help elevate the overall sweetness and add an extra dose of antioxidants!
6. Chili
I use bird’s eye chili or Thai red chili. Note that this type of chili might be too intense if you can’t tolerate spicy food. Feel free to reduce or skip it.
7. Shallot
Shallot is used in most traditional recipes due to its stronger flavor compared to regular red onion. I sometimes use a red onion in this recipe, and it works great too.
Substitute: Red onion for a similar flavor. Yellow onion if you prefer a milder taste.
8. Coriander
I wouldn’t call this a Thai Mango Salad without coriander. For an authentic Thai flavor, do not skip this ingredient and there’s really no similar substitute. Remove the big stems and use only the leaves.
9. Key Lime Juice
Choose the softer and squeezable ones over the hard ones, as they tend to have more juice.
10. Fish Sauce
A common staple in Thai food used for the saltiness and umami flavor. Due to the concentrated flavor, you only need a small amount of this sauce to elevate the taste. I like using Red Boat fish sauce in Thai and Vietnamese cooking.
This sauce is a high-quality fish sauce derived from wild-caught black anchovies from an island in Vietnam. Fermented and extracted in traditional way without any preservatives, MSG, or harmful chemical ingredients.
Generally, a high-quality fish sauce contains essential minerals that are beneficial for health, such as omega 3, iron, and iodine.
Substitute for fish sauce – Salt. Substitute 1.5 tbsp of fish sauce with 1 tbsp of salt.
💡 Do you know the ancient Greeks invented that fish sauce in the 4th–3rd century BC. It’s called garum and was widely used as a condiment in ancient Rome.
How to slice the mango for mango salad
- Once you skin the mango, rotate it horizontally and run it through with a knife multiple times. Make sure it goes deep until your knife almost reaches the seed.
- Now rotate your knife and cut the surface of the mango thinly to make a matchstick cut or julienne. Or if you have a Julienne knife peeler, feel free to use it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you keep this Thai mango salad in the fridge?
Yes, you can. Mango salad tastes better the next day after being in the fridge. Just cover it properly and keep it in a fridge for up to 3 days.
What to eat this mango salad with?
This mango salad is a perfect side dish with any other main dishes. I like to eat this salad with this steamed fish with garlic, ginger and lime juice. Check out other Thai recipes below.
You may also like
Other Mango Recipe You Might Like
Thai Mango Salad
4
pax526.5
kcal15
minutesThis aromatic Thai Mango Salad recipe combines sweet, sour, and slightly spicy with an additional anti-inflammatory herb, torch ginger flower.
Ingredients
1 big green unripe sweet mango
5 shallots – thinly sliced
1-2 bird’s eye chili or red chili – thinly sliced
1 stalk of torch ginger flower
Leaves from 3 stalk of coriander leaves – thinly chopped
5-7 heirloom cherry tomatoes – halves or cut into wedges
1 1/2 tbsp of pure all-natural fish sauce (Red Boat Fish Sauce)
1 tbsp tamarind paste
Juice from 2 key limes (3-4 tbsp)
1/4 cup of chopped roasted almond or nuts of your choice
Directions
- Skin the mango and slice them into matchstick or Julienne cut. I show how to cut it above.
- For the torch ginger flower, remove the big stem and use only the flower part. Cut it in half and slice it thinly.
- In a big salad bowl, combine the mango, sliced shallots, sliced torch ginger, sliced chili, cherry tomatoes, and chopped coriander leaves in the bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, combine tamarind paste, lime juice, and fish sauce, and mix with a spoon until fully incorporated.
- Pour the dressing into the salad bowl and mix them thoroughly. I prefer to use my hand (covered with a glove) so I can gently massage and mix them better.
- Garnish with crushed roasted almonds, and enjoy! If you bought raw almonds, chop them with a knife and pop them into the pre-heated oven under 150C for 8 minutes.
Recipe Video
🥣 Did you try this recipe? Let me know your thoughts in the comment below.
