Light, refreshing, and flavorful, this Spicy Thai Mango Salad is made with fresh flavors of Mango, cucumber, red bell peppers, onions, Cilantro, and mint tossed in a flavorful spicy, sweet, and savory dressing! It is made in less than 30 minutes and is a delicious accompaniment to any Thai dish.
Jump to:
Mangos are everywhere, and how can we not make something with this king of fruit and share the recipe on the blog?
My family is a Mango lover.
Mangos are healthy – low in calories and fat, high in vitamins and antioxidants. And they are super versatile.
I use them in salads, salsas, toppings, dressings, desserts, and sides.
So today, I am here with yet another mango recipe.
If you are looking for a delicious light meal on a hot summer’s day, try this Thai Mango Salad recipe. This salad will blow you away with its taste bud-awakening flavors and mixture of textures.
What is Thai Mango Salad?
Thai mango salad is known as “yum mamuang” in Thai. It is a refreshing and spicy salad made with green Mango, herbs, and vegetables. The main ingredient, green Mango, is shredded or thinly sliced and mixed with red onions, Cilantro, and chopped peanuts.
The salad is then dressed with a sweet, spicy, tangy sauce. The dish perfectly balances sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavors.
This salad is often served as an appetizer or a side dish.
It’s similar to a Thai papaya salad but uses Mango instead of papaya and a few other ingredients to make it unique.
The traditional recipe uses green mangos, but I couldn’t find it. So I used yellow unripe mangos and added more lemon juice to the dressing to balance the sweetness and acidity.
Traditional recipe also uses fish sauce, but we’re using soy sauce to make this recipe vegetarian-friendly.
This salad is very healthy, plus low in calories and fat.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It’s fresh, spicy, zesty, salty, sweet, and tangy in every bite!
- It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.
- There are no fancy ingredients required! You can find everything you need to make this recipe at your local grocery store.
- You can enjoy it as a starter or side dish, add some pan-fried tofu, and enjoy it as a hearty meal.
- It is the perfect side dish alongside your favorite Thai main dishes.
- You may even find it to be quite addicting!
- It tastes delicious with tortilla chips or topped on crostini, french bread, or rice crispies.
Ingredients required
Below is the ingredients list and possible substitutions. The exact ingredient amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
For dressing
- Mangoes: It would be most authentic to prepare this mango salad recipe with Thai green Mango, but It isn’t easy to find in the US. That’s why we use unripe Mango to try and mimic that flavor as best we can. Ataulfo, Haden, Kent, or whatever is available where you live will work in this Thai mango salad recipe. Use firm and unripe mangoes to achieve a tart flavor similar to the Thai green Mango. You’ll peel and seed the mangoes and cut them into very thin strips.
- Red bell pepper – seeded and thinly sliced. Red pepper adds vibrant color and crunch to this salad.
- Cucumber – Thinly sliced. If the skin is tender, leave it on as it adds a beautiful color.
- Red onion – thinly sliced. You can substitute thinly sliced white or brown onion if you’d prefer.
- Mint and Cilantro – the mint and Cilantro are ingredients in this salad and have a wonderful freshness. You can substitute Cilantro for parsley or thai basil.
- Cashew nuts – I recommend using roasted and salted cashew. Cashew nuts can be omitted entirely or substituted with peanuts.
For the dressing
- Soy Sauce – For the salty and unique flavors.
- Lemon juice – To balance the sweetness of the Mango.
- Chili oil – I have used homemade chili oil. You can use store-bought ones too. The amount added to the salad can be adjusted depending on your tolerance for spice. Or you can substitute chili oil with thai red chilies.
- Garlic: Little bit of garlic gives a pleasant aroma and taste.
- Honey or maple syrup will add a deep, moist sweetness to our dressing. Brown sugar is a good alternative.
- Salt enhances all the flavors.
Step-by-step process
For the dressing
- Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake or whisk vigorously. That’s it! Your Thai Mango salad dressing is ready.
Make salad
- Now take Mango, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, Cilantro, mint, and cashew in a bowl.
- Just before serving, add dressing and toss gently to combine.
- Note – I suggest that you add the dressing right before serving. If the salad sits around with the dressing for too long, it gets watery. It still tastes good, but the crispier bits start to get limp.
- Serve sprinkled with more cashew nuts and a few leaves of mint and Cilantro.
Notes, tips, and quick FAQs
- Traditionally this recipe is made with green mangos, which have a tangy flavor. However, you can use green or firm ripe mangos to make this recipe.
- Make sure to chop all the vegetables and mango into thin slices.
- You can use bean sprouts in this salad.
- In the off-season, you can use green apples instead of mangos.
- Each Mango has its level of sourness and sweetness. Adjust your mango salad with sugar, soy sauce, and lemon juice.
- Add the salad dressing just before serving your salad to keep the freshness of the vegetables.
- If you want to make this recipe spicier, add 1 Thai chili finely chopped to the salad.
- You can substitute roasted cashew in this recipe with roasted peanuts.
- Cube the Mango instead of slicing it into thin strips.
- To make this salad hearty, add diced tofu.
- Omit the cashews or peanuts to keep this recipe nut free.
- For the dressing, use tamari or coconut aminos (no soy sauce) to keep this Thai mango salad Gluten-free.
It’s perfectly okay to substitute ripe sweet Mango for sweet green Mango. And that’s what I did. Of course, the flavor is slightly different, but the salad is still delicious!
The best flavor and texture come when you eat this salad right after making it. However, suppose you want to make this Thai Mango Salad in advance; In that case, I recommend combining all the salad ingredients in a container, keeping the dressing separate, and only adding it right before serving.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To make it ahead, peel and slice the Mango, cucumber, bell pepper, and onion several hours or a day early and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Likewise, the mango salad dressing can be made a few days ahead and kept in the fridge separately. Toss all the ingredients and dressing together when you are ready to serve.
Love mangos? Then try these other easy recipes with Mango.
Have you tried this Recipe? Please feed us with your feedback, ★ star ratings, and comments below.
You can also FOLLOW me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST for more fabulous recipes and updates.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for tasty and easy video recipes.
Thai Mango Salad
Ingredients
For salad
- 3 Mangos thinly sliced (Unripe and firm. I have used Atulfo. You can use Haden, Kent, or whatever is available where you live)
- 1 large red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 english cucumber thinly sliced
- ½ cup red onion thinly sliced.
- ½ cup cilantro finely chopped
- ¼ cup mint finely chopped
- ½ cup roasted cashews roughly chopped
For dressing
- 2 to 3 tablespoon chili oil (homemade or store-bought) Use according to your spice level
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon grated garlic
- 1 tablespoon Maple syrup or use your choice of sweetener
Instructions
For the dressing
- Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake or whisk vigorously. That’s it! Your Thai Mango salad dressing is ready.
Make salad
- Now take Mango, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, Cilantro, mint, and cashew in a bowl.
- Just before serving, add dressing and toss gently to combine.
- Note – I suggest that you add the dressing right before serving. If the salad sits around with the dressing for too long, it gets watery. It still tastes good, but the crispier bits start to get limp.
- Serve sprinkled with more cashew nuts and a few leaves of mint and Cilantro.
Video
Notes
- Traditionally this recipe is made with green mangos, which have a tangy flavor. However, you can use green or firm ripe mangos to make this recipe.
- Make sure to chop all the vegetables and mango into thin slices.
- You can use bean sprouts in this salad.
- In the off-season, you can use green apples instead of mangos.
- Each Mango has its level of sourness and sweetness. Adjust your mango salad with sugar, soy sauce, and lemon juice.
- Add the salad dressing just before serving your salad to keep the freshness of the vegetables.
- If you want to make this recipe spicier, add 1 Thai chili finely chopped to the salad.
- You can substitute roasted cashew in this recipe with roasted peanuts.
- Cube the Mango instead of slicing it into thin strips.
- To make this salad hearty, add diced tofu.
- Omit the cashews or peanuts to keep this recipe nut free.
- For the dressing, use tamari or coconut aminos (no soy sauce) to keep this Thai mango salad Gluten-free.
Nutrition
Warm regards,
Dhwani.
Leave a Reply