Yam Tuna or Thai style Tuna Salad

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Last two to three weeks I was in Costa Rica with my family for a vacation, during we were there I missed my Thai food. I am just like the most of Thai people who are used to eating hot and spicy food. Spiciness in chilli peppers helps your appetite, in Thailand we will say “Sab” or Yummy when we see spicy and sour food because it makes your mount water, in some cultures people believe that eating a spicy food can stimulate a person’s sexual appetite.

This Yam Tuna dish is very simple and easy to make – no cooking required. You can find the ingredients pretty much every part of the world. The main ingredient is Tuna from a can, I prefer the Tuna in oil one so that the tuna will not be too dry and I remove some extra oil which is floating on the top in a can, and the rest of ingredients are lime juice, chilli pepper, onion or shallots and one of these herbs - mint, dill, coriander and culantro. I used culantro when I made this dish in Costa Rica as it is available and native herb to Mexico through South America. It is interesting we use this herb a lots in Thai food. And for chilli peppers, the only kind of chilli pepper I had in Costa Rica was jalapeño peppers. I simply roasted a jalapeno pepper on the element of a stove to remove a strong flavour in jalapeno peppers and created a little smoky flavour and was incredible to become a good Thai-Latino Tuna salad.

After I had this Yam Tuna in Costa Rica and thought of people, who love Thai food or spicy food, live in any part of the world will have a chance to enjoy a (simple) taste of Thai and would like to share with. It is healthy food and really good for people who don’t have a lots of time on cooking.

• The tuna in oil, I got in Costa Rica had lot of oil but the tuna in oil from Ottawa was pretty dry so I didn’t have to remove the extra oil. I think it depends on the manufacturers and also the level of sodium too – each brand has different level of sodium.
• For some people may find that shallot has a strong flavour, then red onion is a good solution.

10 minutes for a whole process.

Ingredients

1 can                    Tuna in oil, 130g.

½ cup                   Shallots or red onion, slice thin.

2 - 2½ tbsp           Lime juice

7 leaves                Mints

1 Fresh Thai chilli pepper, chopped very fine or 1 roasted jalapeno pepper. (The spiciness is adjustable, depend on your favour or the level of spiciness of chillies)

Pinch of salt

Fish sauce            Optional; it depends on the level of sodium in tuna.

3                           Grape tomatoes, cut into half.

Instruction

1. Open tuna can. Remove some extra oil that floating on the top. Transfer tuna to a bowl. (Break to be smaller pieces if you use solid tuna).
2. Sprinkle salt on shallot or red onion slices and mix well.
3. Mix all together tuna, shallot or onion slices, lime juice, chilli pepper and mints. And garnish with grape tomatoes.
4. Serve with steamed rice or eat as salad, or wrapped each bite with lettuce leaves, and or for sandwiches.

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Som Tam or Papaya Salad

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Original Som Tam or Papaya Salad is a common dish and widely eaten food among people who speak Lao language in Laos and including Isan or North Eastern Thais. Isan or North Eastern Thai is one of the dialects of Lao language. Isan or North-Eastern Thailand is the biggest part of the country with one third of population, majority of people are farmers. Isan is a farm land and also is the driest part of the country so the growing season is only in rainy season. Their life is full of hardship so they become the biggest group of people migrate to Bangkok and other parts of the country, especially when Thailand started to change to be industrialized country 20-30 years ago. They brought their cultures: food, language and music with them. Comedies and music with Isan language have been popular on TV, at bars, restaurants, streets and etc. 

Som Tam becomes popular food where Isan people are and because of Som Tam is such a pleasant food with the tastes of spiciness, sourness, sweetness and saltiness so it is easy for local people to enjoy it too. The most important ingredient in Som Tam Isan is Pla-Ra or fermented fish which is the Isan rural staple food. Many Thai people who are not from Isan are not comfortable eating fermented fish and will adjust their Som Tam to suit their flavour for example Som Tam in Southern Thailand may have shrimp paste with it. Actually we have Som Tam from royal cuisine which original is from royal cookery, this Som Tam, the important ingredient of royal Som Tam is dry shrimp, always comes with Khao Man or Jasmine rice cooked with coconut milk, but this Som Tam is not that attractive compare with Som Tam Isan so people combine Som Tam Isan and Som Tam from royal cuisine to be Tam Thai or Som Tam Thai - remain dry shrimp but Pla-Ra..

Nowadays many restaurants sell Som Tam as their main menu; they create many different flavours and toppings, for example: papaya salad with salted eggs, crispy anchovy, grilled chicken, cockle (saltwater clams), cooked fresh shrimp etc. The most common and widely available are Som Tam Thai, Som Tam Thai with salted crabs and Som Tam Isan (with fermented fish).

This recipe is Tam Thai or Som Tam Thai, dry shrimp is one of the ingredients but if you don’t like or are allergy with shrimp you can skip this ingredient.

Tip : Fresh and firm green papaya will create crisp shredded papaya but sometimes the really fresh ones are not available then soak shredded papaya in really cold water until crispy.

Som Tum Thai

 *** Medium hot

Ingredients

Shredded papaya and carrot

2 cup              Shredded green papaya

½ cup             Shredded carrot

1/3 cup           Snake beans or green beans, cut in 1½ inch long, crash

10 - 12            Cherry tomatoes, cut half.

1/3cup            Salted roasted peanuts or cashew nuts

1/3cup            Dried shrimp

2                     Thai fresh chillies, crash (the spiciness is adjustable)

1 clove            Garlic, crash

Dressing

1 cake                  Palm Sugar or ¼ cup of Sugar

Ingredients

¼ cup                   Water

3 tbsp                   Lime Juice (adjustable)

3 tbsp                   Fish Sauce (adjustable)

Instruction

1. Making the dressing - heat water and palm sugar or sugar in a pot until sugar is melted or boiled for 7 – 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Add lime juice and fish sauce, mix well.
2. Combine shredded papaya, shredded carrot, snake beans or green beans, chillies, garlic, cherry tomatoes and dried shrimp in a mixing bowl. Add the dressing and mix well and add peanuts or cashew nuts. Serve with sticky rice and grilled or roasted chicken.

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