Spicy Thai Fruit Salad

When you think of fruit salad, what’s in your imagination? Some juicy slices of freshness in colors, topped with some whip cream. Maybe ice-cream. Some of you might prefer warm custard or a hot drizzle of chocolate lava.

What if I tell you that there is another way to spin it? A spicy way. We can turn a good old girl into a seductive bombshell. Think of it this way; it’s like a tornado on a plate.

In Southeast Asia, we made a spicy fruit salad. It’s simple, made with whatever are in front of you. Slice up your favorite fruits, mix them, and try this wild dressing. I have to warn you though, don’t be shy with the smell of shrimp paste. It’s all about flavor and the love of Asian street-food culture.

You can use any kind of fruit, preferably firm and fresh. In Thailand, we love sliced green mango, and you can add anything from guava, apple, to pomegranate. It’s healthy. A bowl of this can be a snack or a meal.

Spicy Thai Fruit Salad

Ingredients: (2 servings)

1 apple- sliced

1 pear- sliced

1 cup of sliced pineapple

1 sweet lime- peeled and sliced (or pomelon)

A handful of grapes and strawberries

(*** You can use any fruits you want. There is no strict role to it.)

For Dressing

2 1/2 tbsp palm sugar

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 lime- juiced

1 tbsp fish sauce or to taste

2-3 dried red chili- roasted and roughly ground

1/4 cup roasted peanut- ground

Preparation:

1. Wash, peel, and slice the fruits. In a large bowl, mix them and keep aside.

2. For the dressing, mix palm sugar, shrimp paste, fish sauce and lime juice together. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Check the flavor. It should be balance with sweet, sour and salt.

3. Add the dressing in the bowl of fruits, add some ground dried red chili and roasted peanut on top. Mix well and serve.

My favorite bite in the bowl is pineapple. I love when the sweet and sour juice burst in my mouth. The smoky chili flavor makes things even better, but you can always reduce it to your level of tolerance.

P.S. Sorry for not being far behind in the blogging world, but we’re back now, and we can’t wait to catch up with you guys

Love,
Tes