Thai salads facts for kids
Yam thale, Thai mixed seafood salad
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| Type | Salad |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Thailand |
| Main ingredients | Various |
| Variations | Yam, tam, lap, phla |
| Similar dishes | Burmese salads, Vietnamese salads |
Thai salads are delicious dishes from Thailand. Unlike many salads you might know, they often don't use raw vegetables as the main part. Instead, they feature ingredients like minced meat, seafood, or noodles.
Thai salads are known for their fresh, bold flavors. They often taste sour, thanks to ingredients like lime juice. They also include lots of fresh herbs and spices. These salads are usually eaten as part of a larger meal with rice or Thai rice noodles called khanom chin. Some, like the famous som tam, can even be a meal or snack all on their own!
What Makes Thai Salads Special?
Thai salads are unique because they focus on different main ingredients than Western salads. They often use cooked ingredients like minced meat, seafood, or noodles.
Key Flavors in Thai Salads
A big part of Thai salads is their amazing dressing. This dressing usually has a sour taste from lime juice. It also includes fresh herbs and other green vegetables.
How Thai Salads Are Eaten
In Thailand, these salads are not just a starter. They are usually served as one of the main dishes in a meal, similar to a buffet. You'll often eat them with different types of rice.
Main Types of Thai Salads
Thai salads are generally grouped into four main styles based on how they are made. These are yam, tam, lap, and phla. Each style has its own special way of preparing the ingredients and mixing the flavors.
Yam: The "Mixed" Salad
The word yam (ยำ) means "mix" in Thai. In cooking, it refers to a type of salad that can be made with almost anything! You can use different kinds of protein like meat or seafood, vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, or noodles.
How Yam Salads Are Made
The main ingredient in a yam can be prepared in many ways. It can be raw, pickled, smoked, steamed, boiled, grilled, or even deep-fried. The basic recipe for a yam almost always includes:
- Sliced fresh shallots or onions
- Fish sauce
- Lime juice
- Sugar
- Fresh or dried chillies
Common herbs used are Chinese celery, spearmint, coriander leaves, and spring onions. Sometimes, sliced tomatoes or fresh spices like lemongrass and ginger are added.
Examples of Yam Salads
Some popular yam salads include:
- Yam nuea yang: Made with sliced grilled beef.
- Yam tale: A mix of different seafood.
- Yam wunsen: Features glass noodles.
You can also find yam salads with unique ingredients like salted duck eggs (yam khai khem) or crispy pork (yam mu krop).
Special Yam Salads
A few yam salads are a bit different from the usual recipe:
- Yam naem khao thot: This salad uses deep-fried sticky rice balls that are crushed and mixed with fermented pork sausage, peanuts, and herbs.
- Yam pla duk fu: Features deep-fried flaked catfish meat served with a dressing made from unripe mango.
- Yam kung ten: This fun salad is made with very small, live freshwater shrimp. The name means "dancing shrimp" because they might jump when the bowl is opened!
- Yam som o: A yam made with pomelo fruit. Because pomelo is already tart, the dressing for this salad can be sweeter or creamier, often using palm sugar or coconut milk.
Tam: The "Pounded" Salad
Tam (ตำ) means "pounded." The most famous tam salad is som tam, made from unripe papaya.
How Tam Salads Are Made
The dressing for som tam is made by pounding ingredients together in a earthenware mortar. These ingredients include:
- Garlic
- Palm sugar
- Lime juice
- Bird's-eye chillies
- Dried shrimp
- Fish sauce
Sometimes, other ingredients are lightly pounded to release their flavors. Many tam salads also include sliced tomatoes.
Northern Thai Tam Salads
Tam salads from Northern Thailand are quite different. They usually don't use lime or tamarind juice, so they aren't sour.
- Tam makhuea: Made from mashed grilled eggplant, similar to other eggplant salads around the world.
- Tam khanun: Uses mashed boiled baby jackfruit mixed with minced pork and chilli paste.
- Tam khai mot daeng: A unique salad made with the eggs of red ants!
Lap: The "Minced Meat" Salad
Lap or larb (ลาบ) is a very well-known salad from Laos and northeastern Thailand. It's spicy, sweet, and very tart.
How Lap Salads Are Made
The dressing for lap includes:
- Lime juice
- Fish sauce
- Ground dried chillies
- Sugar
- Khao khua: Ground dry roasted glutinous rice, which gives the salad a special nutty flavor.
Lap is most often made with minced pork or chicken. Lap pla, made with fish, is also popular in Thailand. Nam tok is a similar dish where the meat is sliced instead of minced.
Northern Thai Lap Salads
Northern Thai lap is quite different. It doesn't use a souring agent. Some versions, like lap khua, use stir-fried minced meat and are more like a meat dish than a salad. However, they are still made by mixing fresh ingredients and herbs together.
Phla: The "Lightly Cooked" Salad
Phla (พล่า) salads are made with proteins that are not fully cooked, meaning they are rare to medium. Popular choices include pork (phla mu), prawns (phla kung), or beef (phla nuea).
How Phla Salads Are Made
The dressing for phla is similar to yam but with a key difference. Besides fish sauce, lime juice, chillies, and shallots, a phla salad always has a lot of thinly sliced lemongrass and spearmint. Other fresh herbs like coriander leaves can also be added. Some versions also include nam phrik phao, a sweet roasted chilli paste.
Other Interesting Thai Salads
Besides the four main types, some other dishes can also be thought of as salads:
- Khanom chin sao nam: A noodle salad with fresh Thai rice noodles, thick coconut milk, chopped pineapple, garlic, and lime juice.
- Mu kham wan: Sliced grilled pork with a spicy and sweet dressing. It's often served with crispy raw Chinese broccoli on ice.
- Miang kham: These are small "salad" parcels. You wrap toasted coconut, chopped lime, chillies, and ginger in a fresh peppery leaf called chaphlu. They are topped with a sweet and savory sauce. These are often eaten as a snack!
- Nam tok mu: Made with grilled pork, chili powder, and lime juice.
Thai meals often include a selection of fresh or boiled vegetables served with a bowl of nam phrik (Thai chilli paste). While not a mixed salad, this tradition of cold vegetables with a sauce fits the idea of a salad as a side dish.
