Wake up your tastebuds with a salad SO good, you’ll forget you’re eating healthy! This spicy Thai Green Mango Salad recipe is a love letter to my fellow salad haters. This BOLD fruit salad is the perfect balance of sweet, salty, spicy and faaaar from boring – just like your personality! THIS is the salad you’ll crave over and over!
Move over sad Ceasar, this fruity green mango salad has taken over & there’s noooo going back! As someone who’s hated salad all my life, craving salad was NEVER on my bingo card until… *enter Asian salads*. Sweet ripe juicy mangos, tossed in a tangy-salty-spicy dressing & sprinkled with crunchy peanuts and fried shallots??
This is NOT your sad limp salad in your fridge, crying as you avoid eye contact lol. This Thai mango salad recipe even gets my husband devouring it! The spicy salad dressing it the real MVP that goes well in Papaya Salad too! Serve it up with a plate of Chicken Pad Thai or charred Pad See Ew with ice cold Thai Milk Tea and Mango Sticky Rice for dessert!
🎥 Video: Watch How to Make the Recipe
🥭 What is Thai Mango Salad
Thai mango salad, or som tum mamuang, is made of vibrant mangos tossed in a dressing of spicy Thai chilies, fresh tangy limes, sweet brown sugar, and umami-packed fish sauce. It’s a very popular salad in Southeast Asia and doesn’t skimp on flavor or texture!
The crunchy cucumbers, red onions, roasted crushed peanuts, & fried shallots add exciting textures, colors, & flavors – so you’re eating with your eyes AND tummy!
🥘 What are the Ingredients of Thai Mango Salad?
- Large Unripe Green Mangoes: Traditionally in Thai cuisine, unripe green mangoes are used, which are firm, crunchy & sourer. My preference is ripe green mangoes, which are sweeter & slightly softer. YOU are the chef though, so choose your preference! Either way, grab mangos that smell fragrant. Yes! Smell your fruit – the more fragrant, the more flavorful the fruit will be!
- Fish Sauce: This adds saltiness and umami! My fave brand is Squid fish sauce because it has only 3 key ingredients – no mystery preservatives or ingredients!
- Tamarind Paste: This adds more tangy with a subtle caramel-like flavor that’s a key ingredient in Thai cuisine. It only takes 2 ingredients to make if you can’t find it in the Asian market (psssst… plus if you have extra, you can make Pad Thai)!
- Cherry Tomatoes: We’ll slightly crush them with the salad dressing ingredients to make an even juicier dressing!
- Fresh Limes: No bottled stuff plz! The fresh limes balance the saltiness of the fish sauce and sweetness of the brown sugar. Speaking of which…
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar adds a subtle toffee-like sweetness to the mango salad dressing. Adjust the sweetness based on how sweet or sour your mangos are!
- Garlic & Thai Chilies: Fresh garlic is a must and Thai chilies add a punch of spice! Add as much or little to fit your spice tolerance!
- Herbs: Fresh herbs like cilantro, Thai basil (or Italian basil if it’s hard to find), and mint add extra flavor and freshness to the salad.
- Fried Shallots & Toasted Peanuts: These add extra crunchy and nutty flavor!
For full ingredient list & measurements, see recipe card below.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: I like making the salad dressing in a mortar and pestle because it really grinds the flavors together sooo well! BUT if you don’t have a mortar and pestle – don’t sweat it! Just mince the garlic & Thai chilies, then mix the rest of the dressing ingredients together. It’ll still be yummy!
With that outta the way…
Pull out your mortar and pestle, then ground garlic and Thai chilies until there’s not more big chunks. Sprinkle in brown sugar and grind until it creates a paste.
Step 2: Pour in fresh lime juice, fish sauce, and tamarind paste. Combine, taste, and adjust any seasonings to your liking! Set aside.
Btw you can make this salad dressing ahead of time & keep it in the fridge to save time!
Step 3: Slice mangoes into long strips, then place in a bowl to combine with sliced cucumbers, red onions, halved cherry tomatoes, a handful of bean sprouts, roughly chopped cilantro, mint, & Thai basil.
Step 4: Using gloves (so your hands don’t smell like fish sauce & burn from chilies), mix the salad while gently squeezing the tomatoes so their juices combine with the dressing. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with crushed peanuts, fried shallots, and extra herbs. Enjoy!
💭 Recipe FAQs
🥗 What to Serve with Thai Mango Salad
Enjoy your fresh papaya salad with tender Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce for appetizers, then dive into the main course with one-pot meals like chewy Chicken Pad Thai or smoky Pad See Ew noodles!
If you want more meat, try my Thai Basil Chicken or Panang Curry with a hot steamy bowl of rice and Tom Kha Gai. And don’t forget to finish off the meal with Iced Thai Tea and sweet Mango Sticky Rice (no steamer required!)
Let’s get cooking!
Get into my secret stash of Goody-Packed Newsletters with meals planned for you & time-saving tips! Want step-by-step videos of how to make my recipes too? I gotchu over at my youtube channel. Aight, enough chatting, more eating!
Green Mango Salad
Watch How to Make It!
Ingredients
DRESSING:
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1-2 thai chilies thinly sliced, adjust to your spice level
- 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons tamarind paste
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 green mangoes peeled & shredded in long strips
- 1 cucumber seeded, and thinly sliced into matchsticks
- ¼ red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- Handful bean sprouts optional
- 2 tablespoons mint chopped
- 2 tablespoons Thai basil chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
GARNISHES:
- 2 tablespoons fried shallots
- 2 tablespoons toasted peanuts crushed
Instructions
- In a mortar & pestle, crush garlic and Thai chilies until there’s no longer big chunks. Add brown sugar and continue to smash until a wet paste is created.
- Pour in lime juice, fish sauce, and tamarind paste. Stir until well brown sugar has dissolved, then transfer to a large bowl.
- In a large bowl, toss together green mangoes, carrots, red onions, cherry tomatoes, bean sprouts, mint, Thai basil, cilantro, and dressing until well combined.
- Transfer to a serving plate & sprinkle on fried shallots, toasted crushed peanuts, & extra herbs. Enjoy!
Notes
- Mangoes: Unripe green mangoes are traditionally used but sweet ripe mangoes work too! Unripe mangoes are firm, crunchy & sourer. Ripe green mangoes (my preference), are sweeter & slightly softer. YOU are the chef though, so choose your preference! Either way, grab mangos that smell fragrant for more flavorful fruit!
- Tamarind Paste: This is a common ingredient in Thai cuisine that adds tangy almost caramel-like flavor! Grab it at Asian markets, easily make it with my tamarind paste recipe with 2 ingredients, or skip it!
- Thai Chilies: These small chilies are SPICY, so adjust to your spice level.
- Brown Sugar: Adjust the amount of sugar based on how sweet or tangy your mangos are and how sweet your like your salad.
Nutrition
Exact calculations may vary. For the most accurate nutritional information, use your preferred nutrition calculator, actual ingredients, and quantities used for the recipe. Please consult with your physician or registered dietitian if more precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
