Thai Mango Salad - so fresh and vibrant

This Thai mango salad is bursting with fresh summer flavour and vibrant colours. An excellent cooling accompaniment to Thai curries or add some protein for a light meal. 

The salad features baby spinach,  sweet diced mango, red bell pepper, citrusy coriander (cilantro). All tossed in our incredible Thai vinaigrette that is full of wonderful umami flavour. 

How Ripe Should my Mango Be?

That depends if you would like your salad to be on the sweet side, then opt for ripe mangoes. But if you would like it on the tart side then choose raw, green mangoes instead.

What I Love About this Salad

1. It balances the five essential flavour tastes (salty, spicy, sour, sweet, bitter) which are the secrets for an excellent Thai recipe.
2. It is a cooling and light salad which makes it an ideal partner for hot Thai hot curries and also great for summer entertaining.
3. We use readily available ingredients that you will find at your supermarket. 

Thai Mango Salad Variations 

• Make it extra spicy by adding an extra Thai chilli.
• Try making this salad with juicy pineapple instead of mango, equally delicious. 
• Add some toasted coconut flakes, toasted peanuts or cashews for crunch. 

Steps to making this salad

1PREPARE THE MANGO
Wash the mango, cut the flesh away from the seed on each side. Then slice off the remaining strips of fruit from the narrow sides.
Take the larger pieces in your hand and with a small kitchen knife cut them into a medium dice, being careful not to cut through the skin and your hand.
Then using a large spoon, scoop out the flesh.
Peel and dice the narrow strips.

2PREPARE REMAINING INGREDIENTS
Wash your baby spinach and remove any wilted or damaged leaves. Either pat dry or spin dry in a salad spinner.
Wash your capsicum (bell pepper), remove the core and cut into small strips. Wash your coriander (cilantro), shake and pat dry then roughly chop.

3BLITZ YOUR DRESSING
Place all the dressing ingredients in a small food processor or high-speed blender and blitz until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings according to your liking.

4ASSEMBLE THE SALAD
Place all the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl, season with sea salt and cracked black pepper, pour over the dressing and toss well to combine.
Taste and adjust seasonings according to your preferences.
Arrange in a salad bowl or platter and serve immediately.

Make Ahead Tips

• Dice the mango, bell peppers, and place them in separate containers covered in the fridge. 
• Wash and thoroughly dry your spinach and place in a bag in your fridge. 
• Make the dressing the day before and keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge. 
• When you are ready to serve all you need to do is chop the cilantro (coriander), assemble the salad, pour over the dressing, season, toss and serve!

Serving Ideas

I make this salad quite often during the summer as we all just love mangoes in my family. A great partner to grilled meats, poultry or seafood which makes it ideal for serving at a barbecue. I have also served it alongside a hot Thai Green Curry, Lime Roast Chicken and Crying Tiger Steak. 

Make it a Meal

This versatile salad can easily be transformed into a light, fresh and easy meal by simple adding grilled prawns, grilled chicken, seared steak. As a vegetarian option try it with some added quinoa, or wild rice or deep-fried tofu. 

Try some more of delicious Thai inspired salads:

Thai Mango Salad with Thai Vinaigrette

This Thai mango salad is bursting with fresh summer flavour salad and vibrant colours. A wonderful cooling accompaniment to Thai curries or add some protein for a light meal. 

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

* Times are an estimate and will depend on your skill level

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: Easy

Servings: 4 as a side

Calories: 220kcal

Author: Anastasia

Equipment

• Salad Spinner
• Small Food Processor or High-speed Blender

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 4 cups baby spinach (approximately 120 grams)
• 2 mangoes (approximately 700 grams)
• 1 red pepper (capsicum) (approximately 200 grams)
• ½ cup chopped coriander (cilantro) should be approximately ½ small bunch)
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper

For the Thai Vinaigrette

• 3 tbsps olive oil extra virgin
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tbsps soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 tbsps lime juice
• 1 small Thai chilli (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon lime zest (approximately Zest of 1 lime)
• 2 kaffir limes (chiffonade*)
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• 1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
• ½ stalk lemongrass (chopped finely) (approximately 1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon Palm sugar (or ¾ teaspoon brown)

Metric - Imperial

Instructions

• Wash the mango then dice into medium chunks then peel and dice the narrow mango strips.
• Wash your baby spinach then either pat dry or spin dry in a salad spinner.
• Wash and trim your capsicum (bell pepper), and cut into small strips.
• Wash your coriander (cilantro), shake and pat dry then roughly chop.
• Add all the vinaigrette ingredients into a small food processor or high-speed blender and blitz until combined.
• Place all the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl, season with sea salt and cracked black pepper, pour over the dressing and toss well to combine.
• Taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste.
• Arrange in a salad bowl or platter and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

 

*Chiffonade is a slicing technique where leafy green vegetables and herbs such as spinach, basil, sorrel, etc. are cut into long, thin strips.

To do this stack the leaves on top of each other, gently roll them into a cigar, and then use a sharp knife to slice them into thin ribbons.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.

Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 886mg | Potassium: 460mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 4999IU | Vitamin C: 89mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 2mg

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