Sweet, citrus-y pomelos are paired with a salty, sour, and tart dressing in this Thai pomelo salad using vegan ingredients. Cool, refreshing, and bursting with juicy flavors, this pomelo salad is waiting to come alive in your mouth.
You can easily bulk up the salad by laying the pomelo segments on a bed of spring mix.
Looking for other yummy Thai dishes? Try pairing this salad with some Thai curry mussels, Thai vegan butternut squash curry, or a Thai winged bean salad for something a little more unusual.
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Why You Might Try this Pomelo Salad
- Cool, refreshing, and bursting with juicy flavors, this pomelo salad is waiting to come alive in your mouth. Give pomelos a try.
- Peeled and prepped pomelos can be held in the fridge long in advance and tossed with the dressing when you're ready to eat.
- Enjoy a traditional Thai dish that's easy to make and pairs and contrasts so nicely with spicy foods or rich, hearty dishes.
- Pomelos add sunshine to your cold, winter table. You'll see these large yellow globes in season during the coldest months of the year but are a year round staple in Thailand.
What are Pomelos?
Pomelos, sometimes spelled pummelos, are a winter citrus fruit. Unlike oranges, they are a bit more difficult to find year round.
I find them seasonally in the farmers market when blood oranges and cara cara oranges are on display in the rainy winter months.
Similar to the sweet and sour flavors of a grapefruit, the flavor of pomelos is more muted, less bitter, and not as drippy and wet.
The pulp stays perfectly contained within each tiny pulp pod making it an ideal ingredient for presentation purposes.
Perhaps the most difficult part of this recipe is peeling the fruit. In Thailand, they often sell pomelo on the street pre-cut, peeled, and packaged on styrofoam trays (as pictured above).
In order to peel your own pomelos, it is a matter of getting your fingers within the white skin membrane and hand tearing away.
Knife work will only go so far and merely segmenting with a paring knife will not do.
Time to put those fingers to work to gently peel away the connective membrane to unveil the rosy pink pulp inside.
You will end up with some intact wedges and some chunks of flesh, either of which works for this salad.
Ingredients
- Pomelo - As a citrus fruit, these are most commonly available in the winter season. Yellow pomelos will be sweeter, but pink pomelos are more widely available.
- Spring Mix - In Thailand, they don't really serve the pomelos with lettuce. (Lettuce wilts quickly in their hot tropical weather.) But for an American salad, it helps bulk up the salad.
- Toasted Peanuts - This adds crunch and is a traditional garnish for many classic Thai dishes.
- Shallot (optional) - This is for the fried shallots. You don't have to use this, but it is another traditional garnish.
- Fresh mint - Fresh herbs are another traditional Thai garnish. If you don't have it though, you can just omit rather than use dried mint.
- Unsweetened coconut shreds (optional) - These can be toasted and really adds a nice texture and tropical note to this salad.
See recipe card for quantities.
Salad Dressing Ingredients
- Rice vinegar - Pro: It adds sourness and an acidic punch to brighten up that strong broccoli flavor. Con: It also discolors the broccoli and makes it turn yellow the next day. Verdict: Use it on the portion of broccoli you plan to consume the same day. Rice vinegar is very mild in sourness, but you could substitute with apple cider vinegar or other lightly color vinegar.
- Soy Sauce - Typically fish sauce would be used, so soy sauce is the vegan alternative. If you are not vegan or don't mind fish sauce, use fish sauce.
- Lime Juice - Use fresh limes. It really does amp the flavor of the pomelos.
- Chili powder or chili flakes - It's hard to find Thai chili powder or flakes in the US, but luckily it doesn't matter too much in this recipe. You could use Italian pepperoncini flakes or chopped fresh jalapeno.
- Sugar - Traditionally palm sugar would be used. I like using coconut sugar, but the sugar of your choice will do. The sugar is essential to balance the sour, tart flavors in this salad.
- Garlic - Fresh, raw garlic is tempered by the lime juice and rice vinegar.
- Salt
Instructions
You don't think of salad as being hard to prepare, but this salad requires a little more elbow grease than most. The hardest part of this recipe is prepping the pomelos!
There’s no real easy way to go about this except to get in there with your hands and start tearing away animal style. Peel away the outer rind as you would an orange.
Then start ripping open the tough white membrane to reveal the supple pink flesh.
Whether you can remove the whole wedge as a single supreme or in pieces, any size will work.
Arrange them onto your serving platter. Pour the dressing over the pomelo. Garnish with the optional toppings of your choice.
Fried Shallots
You can purchase fried shallots in Asian markets or you can make your own, and it doesn't require too much oil.
Slice the shallots into rings, and separate them into individual rings.
Drop the shallot rings into hot oil (350 degrees F), and fry until golden brown. Then drain off excess oil by letting them dry on a paper towel.
Storage
Store up to 3 days in the fridge with the dressing kept separately.
Tips To Make It Better @Home
- The pomelos can be peeled well in advance since the juice does not leech out of the pulp. Prepare a few hours or the day before.
- Similarly, make the dressing ahead of time. Keep in the fridge and use it on other salads or as a dip for fried or fresh spring rolls.
- Other variations of this salad feature ground pork, baby shrimp, shredded carrots, cucumber, and fried garlic slices. If you have extra protein or vegetables you'd like to use up, tuck them in next to the pomelos.
Recipe
Thai Pomelo Salad (Yum Som-O) with vegan ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 ea pomelo peeled into individual segments See Note 1 for weight of pomelo
- 6 c spring mix
Salad Dressing
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or sugar/sweetener of choice
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- ½ ea lime squeezed for juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Optional Garnishes
- 4-6 leaves mint torn by hand or chiffonade thinly sliced
- 3 TB peanuts toasted and chopped
- 2 Tb toasted unsweetened coconut
Optional Fried Shallots
- 1 ea shallot sliced in ¼" thick and separated into individual rings
- ½ c cooking oil such as avocado or coconut oil
Instructions
- Arrange the spring mix and pomelo segments on a serving platter just before serving.
- Mix together the salad dressing ingredients and drizzle over the pomelo and spring mix.
- Garnish with the optional mint, peanuts, coconut, and/or fried shallots.
- To make the fried shallots, heat the oil in a small sauce pan to 350 degrees F. Drop in the shallot rings, and fry until golden brown. Scoop out the fried shallots and drain on paper towels. Let cool before sprinkling on the salad.
Notes
- One 2 ½ lb pomelo yielded 2 c or 13 oz flesh, once I removed the skin, pith, and membrane.
- The pomelos can be peeled well in advance since the juice does not leech out of the pulp. Prepare a few hours or the day before.
- Similarly, make the fish sauce dip ahead of time. Keep in the fridge and use it as an alternative salad dressing or dip for fried or fresh spring rolls.
- Other variations of this salad feature ground pork, baby shrimp, shredded carrots, coconut milk, fried shallots, fried garlic, and tamarind. If you have them, feel free to add them to the party.
Nutrition
Food safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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