Sweet Sour Mango Salad (Kerabu Pauh)
By: TheSocialNomad
Published: Saturday, February 13, 2016 - 8:50am

Ingredients




3 sweet sour mango, peeled and grated
2 Bird's Eye Chili, deseeded, sliced finely
5 Shallot, peeled, sliced finely
1 stalk Lemongrass, outer part removed, white stems sliced finely
1 stalk Long Bean, sliced finely (optional)
1 Tomato, seeds removed, sliced into long strips (optional)
1 tablespoon Dried Shrimp, roasted and pound roughly
1 tablespoon Peanuts, roasted, skin removed and pound roughly
2 pieces Kaffir Lime Leaf, cut finely with scissors
1 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoon Sugar
1 tablespoon Fish Sauce

Preparation

1 Combine grated mango, bird's eye chili, shallots, lemongrass, salt, sugar and fish sauce together. 2 Toss salad fairly quickly so the salad does not appear soggy. 3 Arrange on plate and top with dried shrimp, ground nuts and kaffir lime leaf. 4 Serve immediately

About

Unriped mangoes are hard to find as they are not commercially grown. It is grown in very small scale, usually 1 – 2 trees in someone’s front yard. When its in season, the local markets in the East may have a few pieces for sale. Alternatively, if you have friends growing this tree in their yard or driving by a neighbourhood and spot a sweet sour mango tree, do ask the owner and buy from them. Chances are they have too many for their own consumption. How do you spot them? Easy! The 3 unriped mangoes below are of average size. So how do they taste? On their own it’s usually sweet and sour.  Before the next sentence….Yes, this is another street food found in Kelantan and south Thailand. We love these street foods a lot!
I first tried this sweet sour mango salad in a food shop in Kelantan as an accompaniment for lunch. Due to it’s availability, it would be sold out by 11.30am. I kept going earlier each day, and became friends with the proprietor and her family. They are from South Thailand and their style of cooking is simple and quick. They have since moved back to South Thailand, but whenever I see sweet sour mango in the market, I will make this dish.
The sweet sour mango need to be grated and eaten within the same day. If the unriped mangoes are kept till the next day, it will become ripe and too soft and soggy for grating. Sometimes, a small Mackerel fish, grilled, deboned and picked over (flaked),  is added to the salad.  To get the Kaffir Lime Leaf finely cut like in main picture, use a pair of kitchen scissors and cut it as thin as you can.