thai watermelon salad

Written By Clara M

Inspired by the vibrant flavours of Thai larb, this refreshing watermelon salad combines juicy watermelon with crisp radishes, fresh herbs, chilli, and a punchy dressing of fish sauce, lime, toasted rice powder, and gochugaru.

The idea comes from a watermelon larb in Thai Food by Nat Thaipun, with a few tweaks of my own along the way.

ingredients:

serves 2

for the salad :

  • 400g watermelon, diced

  • 4 pink radishes, thinly sliced

  • mint, thinly sliced, to taste

  • coriander, thinly sliced, to taste

  • fresh chilli, thinly sliced, to taste

dressing:

  • 4 tbsp fish sauce

  • 4 tbsp lime juice

  • 2 tbsp sugar

  • 1 tsp toasted rice powder

  • 1 tbsp gochugaru

instructions:

prepare the watermelon

  • Cut the chilled watermelon into bite-sized cubes, removing the rind as you go. Arrange 400g of diced watermelon on a serving platter or shallow bowl, and save the watermelon rinds for making watermelon rind kimchi. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

make the dressing

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, toasted rice powder, and gochugaru until the sugar has dissolved. Add the sliced radishes to the dressing and toss to coat. Let them sit for a few minutes to lightly pickle while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

assemble the salad

  • Spoon the dressed radishes and all of the dressing evenly over the watermelon. Scatter the mint, coriander, and fresh chili over the top.

  • Serve immediately while the watermelon is cold and refreshing.

    *For the full experience, pair it with: She Can’t Love You - Chemise

Clara M
Next

tofu wrap