Pineapple-Mint Salsa ยำสับปะรดสะระแหน่
Happy Songkran!
In the summer, a not-so young woman’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of salads. It’s too hot to eat anything that involves switching on the stove.
I made this pineapple-mint salsa, since pineapples are solid and sweet right now. The coolness from mint, and tartness from lime juice are a welcome touch of chill to perk you up. It does need a little kick to give it some balance–thank you, diced shallots and chilis. A dash of salt, because you need to replenish your body’s minerals that are sweated, I mean respired out.
I call it a salsa, although it’s more like a side salad or accompaniment. It can also be a template for you to get creative and add other ingredients to make it more hearty. I simply ate it as an open-faced sandwich on hearty slices of farmer bread.
If you want to make it a complete meal and keep your cool, hie thee to the nearest moo-ping หมูปิ้ง vendor for a few skewers of grilled pork.
Otherwise, you can also slice and parboil some squid to make a salad-in-a-bowl meal.
In Thai I call it ยำสับปะรดสะระแหน่ (Yum Sapparot Saranae) – try saying that quickly ten times!
If you want to make it more Thai-tasting, add some fish sauce, peanuts, and dried shrimp.
Recipe:
2 small pineapples, peeled and diced. (About 1 kg before peeling)
A handful of mint leaves, julienned (about 15-20 g)
4 cloves of shallots, finely diced. (Can substitute with red onion)
2 kaffir lime leaves, center stalk stripped out and then julienned.
Lime juice, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
Chili powder, to taste
Sugar, to taste
Mix the chopped ingredients: pineapple, mint and shallots. Add lime juice, salt and chili powder to taste. If it’s not sweet enough, add sugar to taste. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes, to let the flavors meld.
