Thai Grapefruit Salad
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This mouthwatering Thai Grapefruit Salad succeeds in harmonizing sweet, hot, bitter, and sour flavors to simultaneously excite the tastebuds!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 2½ cups of peeled and segmented grapefruit (around 2 or 3 grapefruits)
  • 1 cup shredded carrot
  • 1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
  • 2 small tomatoes, sliced into thin wedges
  • 1 small chile, thinly sliced
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced and fried*
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh shredded coconut (or 2 Tablespoons dried, unsweetened coconut)
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly torn
  • 1 cup mint, roughly torn
  • ½ cup finely chopped roasted peanuts
For the Dressing:
  • 2 Tablespoons vegan fish sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons lime juice
  • ¼ teaspoon lime zest
  • 2 teaspoons palm sugar (or brown sugar or regular sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha (Thai hot pepper sauce)
  • pinch of sea salt
Instructions
  1. After peeling, segmenting, and removing the flesh from the grapefruits, put them into a large bowl. Add the carrot, cucumber, tomato, chile, fried shallot, coconut, cilantro, and mint.
  2. Make the dressing by whisking together the vegan fish sauce, lime juice, zest, sugar, sriracha, and salt in a small bowl. When the sugar is dissolved, pour this over the grapefruit and veggies.
  3. Toss to combine thoroughly, trying not to break up the pieces of grapefruit too much. Taste for seasoning and adjust the salt if necessary. Pour the salad out onto a serving plate and garnish with the chopped peanuts on top. (You can also just toss the peanuts in with the veggies)
  4. Like all Thai salads, this should be served immediately after tossing in the dressing for the best flavor and texture.
Notes
-Fried shallots are a wonderful addition to this and other Thai salads. Just thinly slice a shallot and fry half of the slices in 3 Tablespoons of neutral oil in a small sauce pan. When they are golden and crisp, remove from the sauce pan onto a paper towel. Finish frying the second half of the shallots. Just make sure that when you remove them to drain you don't pile them onto each other. Separate them out as much as you can to keep them crisp. If you don't want to add oil to this recipe or you're not crazy about fried shallots, just use them raw, but rinse the slices under cold water before adding them to the salad.

-I used a combination of white and pink grapefruit---use whatever variety you like.

-Thai basil is a great addition or substitution in this recipe (if you're not crazy about the cilantro or mint).

-A splash of coconut milk (2 Tablespoons) in the dressing adds another layer of complexity.

-Chopped roasted cashews can be a good substitute for the peanuts.
Recipe by Lands & Flavors at https://www.landsandflavors.com/thai-grapefruit-salad/