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Easy Thai Pomelo Salad
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Thai pomelo salad on a white round plate
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Home » Appetizers & Sides

Thai Pomelo Salad (Yum Som-O) with vegan ingredients

Published: Oct 1, 2018 · Updated: Dec 28, 2024 · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

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Easy Thai Pomelo Salad
Thai Pomelo salad pinterest image
Thai pomelo salad on a white round plate

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.  

Thai pomelo salad on a white round plate

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.

Jump to:
  • Why You Might Try this Pomelo Salad
  • What are Pomelos?
  • Ingredients
  • Salad Dressing Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Fried Shallots
  • Storage
  • Tips To Make It Better @Home
  • More Vegetarian Recipes
  • Recipe
  • Food safety
  • Fortune Cookie 🥠

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.
Pomelo Salad on a rectangular black plate

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. 

A pink and yellow pomelo cut in haf on a wooden cutting board
Pomelo come in different shapes and colors. The pink pomelo is probably the most common variety. The yellow ones are smaller but actually sweeter than the pink ones. Both have lots of thick, white membrane that needs to be peeled off.

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

labeled ingredients for Thai pomelo salad
  • 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

Labeled ingredients for Thai pomelo salad dressing on a white background
  • 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!

Pomelo with skin peeled off on a wooden cutting board

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.

Pomelo segments on a wooden cutting board

Then start ripping open the tough white membrane to reveal the supple pink flesh.

chunks of pomelo flesh on a gray round plate

Whether you can remove the whole wedge as a single supreme or in pieces, any size will work. 

pomelo salad on a white plate

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.

Sliced shallots separated into a rings on a wooden cutting board

Slice the shallots into rings, and separate them into individual rings.

Fried shallots in a silver saucepan

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.

Thai pomelo salad on a white round plate with spring mix greens.

Storage

Store up to 3 days in the fridge with the dressing kept separately.

Easy Thai Pomelo Salad
The classic serving method I'ee seen in Thailand is without any extra lettuce or vegetables. Just create a spread of the beautiully peeled, pink pomelo weges on a plate and drizzle over the dressing. This one is garnished with a chiffonade of mint and crushed, roasted peanuts.

Tips To Make It Better @Home

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

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Recipe

Thai pomelo salad on a white round plate with spring mix greens.
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Thai Pomelo Salad (Yum Som-O) with vegan ingredients

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.  
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Thai
Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan
Keyword fish sauce, pomelo
Prep Time 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes minutes
Servings 4
Calories 154kcal
Author Agile Test Kitchen

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

Nutritional facts are calculated based on the inclusion of all optional garnishes: mint, peanuts, coconut, and fried shallots. 
  1. One 2 ½ lb pomelo yielded 2 c or 13 oz flesh, once I removed the skin, pith, and membrane. 
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
Recipe adapted from the Vegan Thai Kitchen cookbook by Sarah Jansala, co-founder of Kati restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
 

Nutrition

Serving: 4g | Calories: 154kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 899mg | Potassium: 324mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1368IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @agiletestkitchen or tag #agiletestkitchen!

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.

Fortune Cookie 🥠

Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

Michael Pollen, 'In Defense of Food'

Lucky Cat 🍀 🐈

With every inhale and exhale, I release all of my stress.

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Easy Thai Pomelo Salad
Thai Pomelo salad pinterest image
Thai pomelo salad on a white round plate

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I cooked in professional kitchens for 10 years, but at home I can barely get myself to boil water.

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