Pomelo Salad (Yam Sam O)

- Serves 4
Come September and you will see sweet and sour Thai pomelos popping up at all local wet markets in Singapore. This refreshing Asian grapefruit is not just great as a snack but makes an outstanding salad. Yam Sam O made with sweet and sour seasonal pomelo is generally tossed in a traditional dressing of tangy tamarind and dried red chilies. This super-refreshing salad is a perfect blend of sweet, sour and spicy flavors. If you are not familiar with tamarind, it is a sticky, brown fruit from Southeast Asia that grows inside a long, curly pod. As children, we’d crack open the pod of young tamarind between our teeth and suck on the sweet and sour flesh inside, before spitting out the seeds. Packaged brown tamarind paste, which is used for cooking, is the dried mature version of the fruit and contains mainly just the fruit (without the seeds and the pod).

​To use tamarind paste, soak it in hot water for 30 minutes before squeezing the flesh with clean fingers, until all the pulp is out of the fruit, leaving behind fiber and solids. The solids are then discarded and the sweet and sour juice is used for cooking. Bottled pre-made tamarind pulp is also widely available now-a-days but has a metallic taste to it; I much prefer making my own and would recommend you to do the same at home. I love making this dressing if I can find the time to do so; otherwise my quick and easy Thai lime dressing also works beautifully with this Salad. 

Ingredients for Pomelo Salad (Yam Sam O)

For dressing
1/4 cup tamarind concentrate (made with 20g tamarind soaked in 1/3 cup hot water)
4 dried red Thai chilies, deseeded and chopped – use a mix of Indian and Thai chilies for medium spicy dressing
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped shallots
3 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 cup palm sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce (Squid brand) or Thai light soy sauce for vegetarian version (Healthy Boy brand)
For salad
2 tablespoons fried shallots
1 pomelo, peel, segmented and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, toast in a dry pan for a few minutes until crispy brown and fragrant (available at Mustafa)
4 kaffir lime leaves, remove midrib, roll like a cigar and slice thinly
2 stalks lemongrass, lower half - thinly sliced
1/2 cup roasted chopped peanuts

Recipe
  1. Place tamarind in a small saucepan with 1/3 cup of water, and bring it to a boil. Let it rest for about 30 minutes.
  2. Strain tamarind through a sieve, mashing it constantly in the sieve using the back of a spoon, until all the pulp is out of the fruit. Discard leftover seeds and fruit in the sieve. (Alternatively, you may choose to massage the tamarind using your fingers, discard skin and seeds, and use the pulp)
  3. Place the chilies in a bowl of warm water to soften for 30 minutes. Using kitchen gloves, squeeze out excess water.
  4. Place chilies, shallots and garlic in a mortar and pound with a pestle until smooth.
  5. In a small saucepan, combine tamarind concentrate, palm sugar and Thai light soy sauce/fish sauce. Heat on medium flame until sugar dissolves. Next add the chili paste and stir well. Reduce heat to low and let it thicken for about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  6. In a salad bowl, combine peeled pomelo, toasted coconut flakes, peanuts, fried shallots, slivered kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and toss with the dressing until well coated. Serve immediately. Leftover dressing keeps well in the fridge for up to a week.
​Notes: When you open a can of coconut milk without shaking it and keep it in a warm place for half an hour, the cream usually floats to the top and you can then skim it. When you buy a can of coconut milk, you might see it already separated if you don’t shake the can before opening. But some brands of coconut milk contain additives or emulsifiers that keep it from separating, which is often the case in Singapore
For more delicious recipes, check out our upcoming hands-on cooking classes in Downtown Singapore.
​Click here for more details.