Category: salad

Thai style Green Mango Salad

A lovely colleague and friend of mine gave me green mangoes this week inspiring me to make a salad to go with Thai Red Roast Pork.

A delicious combination which transported me back to eating Thai street food on my first visits to Thailand.

Whilst this recipe is simpler than traditional Thai versions and doesn’t include shrimp paste. You could roast 1/4 teaspoon some in foil and add to the dressing at the whisking stage.

You can also add prawns, tomatoes and cucumbers to this to make it a meal in itself, just make more dressing.

Ingredients

Salad:

1-2 green mangoes, peeled and grated (stop grating when you get to the seed)

1 large carrot grated

1/2 red onion or 3 eschallots finely sliced

1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

1/4 cup fried shallots (ready made available in Asian stores)

1/4 cup peanuts

Dressing:

Juice of 2 limes

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar or palm sugar

3 cloves garlic

1-2 red chillies

3 kaffir lime leaves, vein removed and sliced into slithers

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method:

Thai style green mango salad with peanuts and fried shallots

Grate and slice salad ingredients.
Pound garlic, kaffir lime leaves and chilli together in mortar and pestle (this helps release flavour from the lime leaves and enable garlic and chilli flavours to meld into dressing more
Put paste into a medium bowl, add rest of ingredients and whisk until sugar dissolves (well mostly dissolves) Taste to check if additional fish sauce (salty) or sugar (sweet) needed to balance the flavour.
Add peanuts to a dry non-stick frying pan and toast until browned (careful not to burn)1
Assemble all the salad ingredients except he peanuts and fried shallots
Add dressing and mix thoroughly then scatter over fried onions and peanuts to finish.

January 31, 2026January 31, 2026

Shanthini1 Comment

Urban Urab: Balinese style coconut and vegetables

Urab Sayur is a green vegetable and coconut salad that we often enjoy in Bali.

Whilst we can’t get the ingredients for our favourite fern tip “Urab” in Sydney, my so-called Urban Urab comes close to replicating the fresh and delicious flavours using local ingredients.

It goes well alongside Zuchinni in Coconut Milk Curry Sauce and Balinese Pork or any grilled or roast seafood or meat.

Ingredients:

250g green beans, finely sliced
2 cups of baby spinach sliced finely into shreds
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
2 small red chillis
4 eschallots or a small red onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon shrimp paste (optional)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
juice of one lime
1/4 cup Asian fried shallots
2 tablespoons oil

Method:

Pound garlic and chillies together in a mortar and pestle to create a paste
Finely slice eschallots or red onion and the green beans….as finely as you can. Keep them in seperate bowls.
Heat oil, add onion and cook slowly until caramelised and brown, then add garlic chilli paste and shrimp paste (if using) and cook for 1-2 minutes. (The shrimp paste will be smelly but adds depth and authenticity)
Add green beans, fish sauce and water and cook until beans are tender but still have some crunch …about 2-3 minutes (I don’t use extra salt as the shrimp paste and fish sauce are salty but you can add salt to your taste)
Remove from heat, add shredded spinach, dessicated coconut, drizzle with lime juice and scatter over the Asian fried shallots

February 1, 2025February 1, 2025

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Grilled figs, Burrata and rocket salad

This was a delicious combo …drizzle honey with over figs and grill until slightly caramelised then combined with rocket, Burrata and sprinkle of balsamic vinegar, sea salt and black pepper.

Lovely salad with our bbq tonight.

March 2, 2024March 2, 2024

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#Balsamic #beetroots, brown rice and #lentil salad

Discovered the concept of using 90 second microwave brown rice as an addition to salads!

It’s a great way to add some healthy carbs for a delicious lunch or as a side.

This combination of balsamic, beetroot, onions, lentils and walnuts with a good dollop or two of lemony yoghurt dressing is very delicious.

Serve it warm or cold.

Ingredients:

Pack of 4 pre-cooked fresh baby beetroots (available in supermarkets in Australia)

1 can brown lentils

250g 90 second microwave brown rice

1/2 red onion sliced thinly

1/2 cup copped continental parsley

1/2 cup walnuts

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 cup plain Greek yoghurt

Juice of half a lemon

Method:

1. Cut beetroot into wedges, heat oil in non-stick pan, cook beetroot for 2-3 minutes, add vinegar and sugar and cook another 2-3 minutes until vinegar evaporates. Remove from heat.

2. Slice onions, chop parsley, squeeze lemon juice. Drain lentils. Mix yoghurt with pinch of salt and lemon juice.

3. Toast walnuts in a non-stick pan..be careful not to burn.

4. Cook 90 second brown rice

5. Put warm rice into a salad bowl, add drained lentils, onions, beetroot, parsley. Mix gently. Then top with toasted walnuts.

6. Dress salad with yoghurt lemon dressing.

September 16, 2023

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Easter Feasting and Grazing. #easter #feasting #pearlbeach

A lovely Easter holiday at Pearl Beach, one of our favourite Sydney getaways. Lazy beach days as summer turns to autumn here, walks, swims and a book fair to keep us all stocked up for reading. Blissful family time and healthy grazing and feasting as well.

Here are some photos of our some of our lunches so far. Promise to post recipes in weeks to come.

Caramelised Fig, Avocado and Toasted Walnut Salad

BBQ Swordfish with Pepperonata, olives and capers.

Tortilla, fresh prawns, pesto mayonnaise and toasted Turkish bread

April 9, 2023

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Bocconcini and Spinach Salad with Pickled Red Onion

Tired of the usual bocconcini and tomato salad? The addition of quickly pickled red onions in balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt certainly is a pick me up!

Bocconcini, Tomato, spinach and pickled red onion salad

I layered it on a bed of baby spinach leaves, sliced tomato, sliced baby bocconcini and then dressed with olive oil before scattering over the quick pickled onions, the remaining balsamic, and a sprinkling of torn baby basil leaves and a grind of black pepper.

Here’s a recipe for pickling red onions Simply delicious pickled red onion