THAI GRILLED PORK SALAD

Thai Salad including this Thai Grilled Pork Salad is not like typical Western salad. The dressing is tangy, a little sweet, salty and spicy. Thai people love spicy food so even our salads, they are spicy. I know! Crazy! LOL We also don’t eat salad before main course. Salads are part of the main course. They usually have some sort of protein as the main ingredient, lots of vegetables, herbs and usually served with some rice. Good news is this Thai Grilled Pork Salad is pretty easy to make and healthy for you.

I know I said Thai food is spicy, but  you can omit the chilies if you’re not in to spicy food. You do you. No one will judge you. 🙂

I also have a few Thai (or some, let just say “Thai influenced dishes”) and other Asian dishes posted. Check them out, Thai and other Asian recipes.

Let’s cook some food!

Start with grilling the pork chops. I use bone-in large pork chops (about 1-inch thick). I sprinkled my pork with some salt, pepper, paprika and drizzled with some canola oil. You can use the marinade that I use in the Grilled Asian Chicken Wings to marinade your pork (my Thai peeps probably like that marinade better 🙂 ). Also, if you don’t like pork, you can use beef or chicken instead.

Heat up the grill. I use my cast iron pan to grill indoors. Once the grill is hot (judging by the sizzling noise when you put the meat down), place the pork chops on the grill, let them cook for 5-7 minutes, depending on how thick they are.

The ones I got were pretty thick so I cook them for 7 minutes on each side. They turned out medium well.

Let them rest. While waiting for the meat to cool down, make the dressing.

In a food processor (or a blender) add the juice of 1 large lime (or 1 1/2 if they are small), 1 garlic clove, cilantro stems (about 2-3, and save the leaves – we’ll need them later), 1 teaspoon of Fish Sauce, 3 Thai fresh chilies, and 1 tablespoon of Agave (or sugar).

Blend everything together until well combined. Set aside.

I like my dressing sweet and sour and just a little bit salty and of course, spicy. 🙂 I’m Thai after all.

Slice the pork against the grain. Chop cilantro leaves (I used about 1 tablespoon). Cut cherry tomatoes in half, I used yellow and red for color and I used about 1/2 cup of tomatoes. Slice 1 shallot thinly.

Add the dressing.

Toss everything gently in a large bowl.

Serve Thai Grilled Pork Salad on top of the bed of lettuce (optional) with some rice or Quinoa. Enjoy! If you decide to try it, please let me know how it goes, the comment box is below the recipe card. 🙂