Thai Salad with Cucumber

This Thai salad with cucumber tastes absolutely delicious. I always thought that som tam style salads absolutely had to use papaya until my girlfriend, who is from Thailand’s northeastern Isaan region, showed me that you can make what is one of my favorite ever Thai salads, but with cucumber instead. Happy days! Especially given the cost of papayas outside Thailand: in my country it’s like $7 for unripened papaya of the type you need to make som tam.

Anyway, before moving on to this Thai salad recipe, note that nam pla raa (fermented fish sauce) is an absolute essential if you wanna make this as authentic as possible. The condiment is available in any good Asian store, and you can also buy 10 bottles of it pla ra on Amazon for $89, which is a decent deal, particularly if you have friends that like to cook authentic Thai salads. You also should really look to invest in a proper Isaan-style mortar and pestle.

Anyway, that’s enough waffling by me, I just wanted to make sure you have the ingredients needed to make this salad taste as good as it deserves. After you have the right ingredients and equipment, the making of the recipe is an absolute breeze.  Here we go with my Thai salad with cucumber recipe. Enjoy this Thai food classic dish 🙂

Print Recipe

Authentic Thai Salad with Cucumber

Prep Time

20 mins

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 2-4 dried chilis re-hydrate in lukewarm water for 5 mins
• 1 teaspoon palm sugar white or brown are ok substitutes
• 1 lime (halved) cut one half into thirds and keep the other half whole
• 1 cucumber
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon nam pla ra fermented fish sauce: an essential Thai Isaan-style salad ingredient
• 1 small handful unsalted roasted peanuts
• 2 cherry tomatoes (quartered) any small tomato is fine
• 1 garlic clove

Prep Time 20 mins Servings people Ingredients 2-4 dried chilis re-hydrate in lukewarm water for 5 mins 1 teaspoon palm sugar white or brown are ok substitutes 1 lime (halved) cut one half into thirds and keep the other half whole 1 cucumber 1 teaspoon fish sauce 1 teaspoon nam pla ra fermented fish sauce: an essential Thai Isaan-style salad ingredient 1 small handful unsalted roasted peanuts 2 cherry tomatoes (quartered) any small tomato is fine 1 garlic clove

Instructions

1. Place the sugar, re-hydrated dried chilis, and garlic in a wooden Thai mortar and bash until oils are released. This should take 10 seconds.

   
2. Add lime wedges and bash to release juice for 2-3 seconds.

   
3. Peel skin from cucumber and cut into uneven matchsticks of 3-4 cm in length. Thickness can vary: there's no need to be really precise. Add cucumber to mortar and grab a large spoon to prepare for the next step.

   
4. Add the fish sauce, fermented fish sauce, juice from the remaining lime half, followed by the cucumber, peanuts, and tomatoes. Combine ingredients well by gently bashing cucumber against the side of the mortar with one hand while tossing the dressing into the salad via the spoon with your other hand.

   
5. Empty the salad from the mortar onto a plate and eat it with grilled meat. For carbs, I recommend some Thai vermicelli rice noodles or some sticky rice. Plain rice is also fine.

   

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Ronan

I lived in Thailand for a few years during my 20s during which time I fell in love with Thai food. Along with my Thai partner, I cook and eat tasty Thai dishes 3 or 4 times per week. I’m here to bring you recipes, Thai food tips, and suggested cookware for making Thai food.