Celebrate spring veg and rustle up irresistible Thai salads by mastering the four key flavour profiles of the country’s cuisine
“You always want to be hitting the four Ss, which are sweet, salty, sour, and spicy,” says Sebby Holmes, head chef/patron of Farang, a Thai restaurant in north London. “If you have a balanced combination of all those things, people are going to love it.”
Spring brings with it a host of new veg and salad leaves, so you’ll want a nice, fresh dressing to match. Nahm jim would be just the ticket, Holmes says: “In a mortar, pound coriander root – or, if you can’t find it, some coriander stems – garlic, long red or green chillies [or bird’s eye, if you like more heat, or a combination of the two], and a bit of salt, to make a paste.” Into that goes fish sauce (or seaweed sauce or soy sauce, depending on preference), lime juice, mandarin, clementine ororange juice, and a little palm or caster sugar. Use this mix to cure fish (“prawns, sea bass and salmon all work well”), then get a selection of mint, coriander, Thai basil and some fresh fruit, such as pomegranate. “Mix that cured fish through the salad and serve with steamed sticky rice.” For vegetarians, Holmes would combine the same sauce with cooked glass noodles. “Get some sweet-and-sour fruits in there, too, plus wild garlic (if you can get hold of any), mint and coriander, and pour over the dressing.”
