Travel Recipes | Green Mango Salad

With the whole world shut down right now by the Covid-19 virus going around, it isn’t really possible to go out and travel. When it comes down to it, it’s pretty hard to get out of the house to do anything. So what can we do when we’re on lockdown but have the travel itch? Cook a green mango salad, that’s what! It’s refreshing and sweet, tangy and salty, with a spicy little kick that will take you to the tropics in an instant. And – most importantly – it’s a super easy dish to make at home.

Green Mango Salad | Travel Recipes

Discovering Green Mango Salad in Malaysia

We stumbled upon the green mango salad entirely by accident back in 2016 at the 1-Utama mall in Kuala Lumpur looking to grab a bite to eat. It was a side-dish that came with my pad thai, while Briana got a coconut sticky-rice and ruby red dessert. We really had no idea what to expect of it, and even after eating it we didn’t really understand what it was we had just eaten.

Green mangos are not generally consumed in the US – we usually wait until they ripen up and develop a creamy texture. But in places like Southeast Asia, where they grow year-round in abundance, they’ve figured out a few different ways to use them. We were thrown for a loop at first, because we didn’t know where the mangos were.

We ate these crisp little sticks, that had a bite more akin to an apple or cabbage, than a soft mango. But we clearly had a mango flavor going on. We thought that there must have been some sort of mango juice mixed over whatever the crispy little sticks were and that it simply wasn’t the most accurate name for a dish. But as we finished up and left, it dawned on us that the crisp little sticks were, in fact, the mango!

Trying Our Own Version of Green Mango Salad

The dish is “Green Mango Salad”, not because you use green colored mangos, but because the mangos are “green”, as in they aren’t yet ripe. A very similar, and more prominent, salad exists as well – the green papaya salad. But, at least for us, we prefer mangos over papaya – purely a personal choice. I knew that this was a dish I was going to need to try and make back in the kitchen.

We found that we liked the dish so much and it was so easy to make, we continued to prepare it all along our road, as long as we had access to mangos. So with some experimenting, I managed to create a pretty satisfying recipe for it. Even after returning from abroad, we would continue to make the dish whenever we felt like we needed a little taste of Southeast Asia. And another great thing about this dish, is that it is so easy to personalize, adjust, and embellish to your liking – it’s an incredibly forgiving dish and one I guarantee you’ll love.

Green Mango Salad Recipe

This recipe makes enough for two people as a side dish or one person as the main item. It takes roughly 10 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

• 1 Mango (green / unripe)
• 1/4 cup Roasted Peanuts
• Fresh Cilantro (to taste)
• 1 Lemon/Lime (juiced)
• Chili Pepper (to taste) – dried or fresh
• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce

Instructions

1. Cut the mango into thin match sticks
2. If not already roasted, lightly roast the peanuts in a pan on medium heat
3. Finely chop or grind your chili pepper(s)
4. Cut the Cilantro
5. Juice the lemon/lime
6. Mix everything together: green mango; peanuts, cilantro, peppers, soy sauce, and lemon

Congrats! You’ve finished your Green Mango Salad. Serve fresh, or refrigerate for later use.

Tips for Your Green Mango Salad

As I mentioned already above, green mango salad is an extremely versatile dish that you can customize to your liking. The recipe above is just the most basic approach and should be thought of as a base to get you started. Here are a few things to keep in mind and get you experimenting with your own takes on the dish.

• Ideally, use as “green” of a mango as possible to get that crisp bite. However, you can use a mango at almost any level of unripe. Keep in mind that the mango should hold up to being mixed and tossed, and not be soft.
• You can swap in papaya if you prefer that over mango. The rest of the recipe will stay essentially the same (adjusting measurements for the larger papaya of course). We personally just prefer mango but have enjoyed both.
• When it comes to chili peppers, it’s all personal choice – though I would avoid any smoked varieties such as chipotles. Traditionally, a Thai birds-eye chili is used, but those can pack more heat than many prefer (I love them though). In the dish pictured here, I used a dried pequin pepper which is a personal favorite of mine. If you don’t have anything on hand, you can always plain-ol’ red pepper flakes.
• A lime is preferred, but any citrus will do. I used lemon this time because it is what I had. Get creative and try out other juices – blood orange perhaps?
• Not everyone likes cilantro – you’re wrong, but that’s your choice 😛 – so if you really can’t stand it, swap it out for Thai Basil or just omit entirely. Don’t use regular basil or any other herbs, it won’t taste right. Thai Basil has a distinct peppery taste that compliments the dish. You can also use mint, but if you do – omit the soy sauce.
• Don’t be afraid to try adding other vegetables to the salad as well: carrots, cabbage, bean sprouts, even apples! Just remember to keep it something crisp, that doesn’t have a particularly strong flavor on its own. Remember, the mango is the star of the dish, don’t get carried away with too many ingredients.

Great for the Health Conscious

As you may have noticed, this dish is vegetarian, in fact, it’s vegan. The dish fits many special dietary needs as there is no dairy or meat and can easily be customized to suit personal needs or preferences – without changing the spirit of the dish. Loaded with Vitamin C, and packed full of nutrients, you can’t really go wrong it. A few notes though:

• Swap out or omit the peanuts if you have a peanut or related nut allergy.
• Soy sauce can present a few issues, namely high sodium content and gluten. If you are on a reduced-sodium diet, be sure to cut back on soy sauce or use a low-sodium variety. As well, you can get gluten-free soy sauce if you are gluten intolerant.

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A Taste of Southeast Asia in your Home

So there we have it, green mango salad! What do you think of it, ready to try it out yourself at home? We have plenty of other dishes that we’ve picked up on our travels. So let us know if you have any other requests and let us know if your green mango salad was a success. Happy cooking travels!

Enjoy!