Thai Mango Salad with Chicken & Papaya Recipe
This Thai style mango salad recipe uses some of the techniques and flavours used in authentic Thai dishes to create a delicious, light, fruity salad, topped with a chicken breast. Just before we begin, if you like the look of the bowls I’ve used, you’ll find some just like them right here! And just so you know, that was an affiliate link for which I earn commission whenever anyone makes a purchase.
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Introduction
I’ve been making a lot of Thai food this week. You might also find recipes like my Authentic Thai Yellow Curry or this wonderful Thai Green Curry quite useful!
Writing the curry recipes was a natural starting point for me because I am so familiar with the process. Making recipes like this beautiful Pad Thai was another very natural step. I have cooked Pad Thai a great many times and I’ve even created noodle dishes of my own, like this gorgeous Pork Noodle dish.
Salads, however, are not something I make a great deal. I must confess that I am one of the many men who are not especially drawn to salads. I enjoy the feeling of being full and gravitate toward big plates of food with lots of meat and diverse textures.
There are exceptions, of course. I thoroughly adore Chicken Caesar Salad, for example. So whenever I see it on a menu, I’m probably going to choose it.
Perhaps that’s because I think of Caesar Salads as being a bit more substantial. And as an avid lover of spices and sour flavours, the idea of a Thai inspired salad holds a lot more appeal!
About the dish
This recipe was about combining the two ideas I described above. To create something spicy and zingy, with enough substance to make a proper meal.
The dish is heavily modelled on the famous Thai Papaya Salad. With the obvious and very important additions of mango and chicken.
The original dish is a very simple, light salad. It is often served with chicken, fish or seafood, in much the same way as this dish.
It is made with a nutty, sweet and sour sauce. And is a really wonderful, fresh dish.
About this Thai Mango Salad with Chicken & Papaya Recipe
So, in this recipe, as I said above, we will be using the basic formula for a Thai papaya salad and making a few simple tweaks.
That means that we will be making a simple sauce from peanuts, tamarind and a few other seasonings and spices. And that we’ll be simply cooking a chicken breast to top the salad. Although you wouldn’t have to and could serve the salad either alone, as a light bite, as a side, or with a different protein.
As a simple dish, this Thai mango salad is really all about the flavours. It’s about getting that wonderful zing from the tamarind and saltiness from the dish sauce.
It’s about using just the right amount of spice for you. To lift all the other flavours and take them all the way to Thailand.
I would like to acknowledge that this is not a traditional Thai dish, as most of my recipes seek to be. But it does nevertheless utilise authentic ingredients, flavours and techniques.
Things to remember!
- Slicing up the mango and papaya is kind of annoying! There’s not a great deal we can do about this, unfortunately. So just be patient with it and take as much care as you can to cut everything finely and consistently.
- The level of spice and sourness is up to you. I enjoy spices, but I adore sour flavours, so I tend toward the heavier handed side when I cook for myself. I will write a fairly tame recipe, however, and you can scale up to fit your preferences if required.
Similar Recipes & Useful Sides
Delicious Thai Yellow Curry – A fantastic curry that takes the fresh, vibrant flavours of Thailand and adds to them the complex flavours of dry spices and earthy turmeric.
Perfect Prawn Pad Thai – The national dish of Thailand. Quite possibly the perfect stir fry! With fresh seafood, paper thin rice noodles, crunchy peanuts, zingy tamarind and fiery chilli.
Authentic Thai Green Curry – Need I say more? The classic Thai dish that we all know and love. A perfect, vibrant curry with beautiful green chillies and fresh herbs.
Thai Chicken Massaman Curry – An amazing Mughal dish that perfectly merges Thailand’s incredible, fresh, beautiful flavours with the most decadent richness and spiciness of India at its most indulgent.
The above are affiliate links for which I earn a commission per purchase.
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Thai Mango Salad with Chicken & Papaya Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken Breasts
- 2 Mangos
- 2 Papayas
Sauce
- 1 Cup Green Beans
- Peanuts
- 3 tsp Tamarind Paste
- Palm Sugar or caster sugar
- Lime Juice
- Fish Sauce
- 2-4 Red Chillies
- 3 cloves Garlic
Garnish
- Fresh Coriander
- Peanuts
Instructions
Sauce
- De-seed and finely chop the two (or more) chillies and add them to a pestle and mortar.
- Add a tsp palm sugar, chopped into small pieces.
- Peel and finely chop 3 cloves of garlic and add them as well.
- Add a small handful of peanuts and grind everything up nice and finely.
- Add a tsp tamarind paste and grind everything down further.
- Add another 2 tsp tamarind paste, a good splash of lime and an equally good splash of fish sauce, then mix everything together and test the taste.
Prep
- Peel the papayas and mangos, then julienne them.
- Mix in with the sauce and set aside.
Cook & Plate
- Using a rolling pin or another heavy kitchen item, hammer out the chicken a little to even out the surface. You want a nice, even piece of meat, but ideally not too thin.
- Season with salt and place it into a medium hot, well oiled pan.
- As long as you've flattened out the chicken sufficiently, this should only take 5 minutes or so on each side. Alternatively, you can simply cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165c.
- Plate up the salad and toss some more peanuts over the top. Garnish with coriander and then place the chicken on top to serve. If desired, drizzle a little more lime juice over the top.
If you’ve enjoyed this recipe or have any comments or queries, please do let us know in the comments section below! And don’t forget to like and share!