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Thai Watermelon Salad

I've never met a human who didn't like this salad... and I've served it to a lot of my humans.

Over the years, I've brought this salad to several potlucks and BBQs (including this one where I made Grilled Lemongrass Shrimp). One of my all-time favorite salads, it's super easy and fast to make, since it only involves a few ingredients (i.e. fistfuls of fresh herbs). And it's just a little more interesting than a usual green/potato/pasta salad situation, so it collects lots of compliments.

It's not quite millennial pink, but this watermelon also makes everything look like a billion bucks.

Thai Watermelon Salad

paleo, whole30-approved, gluten-free, vegetarian

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1/8 cup water

  • 1/8 cup fish sauce

  • 1 lime's worth of zest and juice

  • 1 Thai chili, sliced thinly

Salad Ingredients

  • 5 cups watermelon, diced

  • 1 English cucumber, diced

  • 1 small bunch of fresh basil, chopped

  • 1 small bunch of fresh mint, chopped

  • 1 small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

  • toasted cashews, if desired

Instructions

  1. Mix up the dressing.

  2. Toss the salad ingredients with the dressing and serve.

Tips

  • This goes really well with Grilled Lemongrass Shrimp or Thai Lettuce Wraps with Pork Larb.

  • I don't have exact amounts for you with the herbs. Like with any salads, it's throw-together. If you want less herbs, do less. If you want more, do more.

  • As a reminder to my paleo and gluten-free pals, check the ingredient labels of your fish sauce for surprise sugar and gluten. When in doubt, Red Boat brand is the way to go.

  • I also have a version of this salad on the site that doesn't have watermelon but is still delicious: Thai Cucumber Salad.

  • Watermelon-loving friends, you should also consider this Salty Ancho-Chile Melon Margarita.

See this gallery in the original post