This Thai-inspired grapefruit salad is light, refreshing, and so tasty with tangy sweet vinaigrette! It comes together in under 15 minutes with readily available ingredients.
This dish is loaded with exotic umami from the fish sauce, along with a perfect amount of sweet tanginess. There’s also a nice kick from the crushed chili pepper which you can adjust as you like.
Topped with crunchy cashews, fried onion, and fresh cilantro leaves, there is a full-on mix of textures and flavors. I guarantee it will be your new favorite!
Traditionally this type of salad is called Yam Som-O, and it is usually made with pomelo - a large citrus fruit found in Southeast Asia. Being in the states, I normally go with grapefruit which has a similar flavor profile but is more accessible.
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Salad or Appetizer?
This dish works great as a main salad or appetizer. If serving as a salad, it would be for 2 serving. It can serve up to 4 as an appetizer.
Can I Use Precooked Shrimp?
I personally like cooking raw shrimp as they cook really fast anyway. Also, freshly cooked shrimp come out more plump and juicy!
That said, you can totally use the precooked type at your convenience. If the shrimp seem on a drier side, add an extra teaspoon of olive oil to balance out.
Ingredients for This Recipe
- Lime juice - freshly squeezed, or from a bottle
- Fish sauce
- Coconut sugar
- Crushed red chili pepper
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Pink grapefruit, peeled and chopped
- Red onion - or any type of onion
For topping:
- Chopped cilantro - or mint leaves
- Cashews - or roasted peanuts
- Fried onion
How to Make Thai Grapefruit Salad
1. Make the dressing - Combine the lime juice, fish sauce, coconut sugar, crushed pepper, olive oil and salt together.
2. Cook the shrimp - Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan and boil the shrimp for 2-3 minutes. Drain completely.
3. Toss - Place the shrimp, grapefruit, and red onion in a bowl. Drizzle the dressing and toss.
4. Serve - on a plate. Top with cilantro, crushed cashew, fried onion and more red onion.
* See below recipe card for a detailed directions.
How to Prepare a Grapefruit
First, slice off the top and bottom of the grapefruit. Then let it stand upright, and carefully slice off the peel on the sides with a sharp knife, following the curves of the fruit. Lastly, slice vertically along the membrane and cut even smaller if desired.
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Recipe
Thai Grapefruit Salad with Shrimp
Ingredients
For dressing:
- ⅓ cup lime juice from 2 to 3 medium limes, or bottled
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or regular sugar
- ½ teaspoon crushed red chili pepper or more
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- salt to taste
For salad:
- ½ pound large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 pink grapefruits peel, remove as much of the white peel as possible, and chop
- ⅛ red onion finely chopped, plus more for garnish
For topping:
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro lightly packed
- ¼ cup crushed cashew or peanut
- 2 tablespoons fried onion
Instructions
- Combine all 6 ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
- Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan and boil the shrimp for 2-3 minutes. Drain completely.
- Place the cooked shrimp, prepared grapefruit, and red onion in a bowl. Drizzle the dressing and toss gently.
- Serve on a plate and top with cilantro, crushed cashew, fried onion, and more red onion.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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