Isaan Cucumber Salad (Tum Tang)
Spicy Isaan cucumber salad (Tum Tang) is a salty, savory, sweet, tangy dish that is easy to put together for a quick, healthy, tasty meal. The salad has extra flavors and crunchy textures that will delight your taste buds! It's a perfect side dish or served as a main meal!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 3 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
- 3 cup sliced cucumbers
- 1/3 cup green beans, slice into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1-2 garlic cloves, whole
- 1-10 Thai chilis, as preferred for spice level
- 1 tbsp fish sauce, 3 Crabs, or Red Boat brand for best flavors
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1+1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp tamarind
- 1 tbsp Plara. Use the Pantai brand (from the Asian market) or this brand.
- 2+1/2 tbsp dried shrimp
Instructions
- 1
Use a sharp knife, then cut cucumbers into long thin julienne slivers. *See the section above on how to cut the cucumbers for the salad.
- 2
Lightly pound the garlic and chilis in a large mortar and pestle. Don’t make a paste.
- 3
Add the sauces: fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, tamarind, and Pla Ra sauce. Mix the sauces well until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- 4
Add the sliced tomatoes and green beans. Firmly pound together, and avoid splashing the sauce too much.
- 5
Add the cucumber and dried shrimp, then pound for a minute or so until the salads look bruised but not too crushed. The cucumber juices will marinate beautifully with the sauces at this point.
- 6
Add the crushed peanuts (optional). Let the salad sit to marinade for 2-3 minutes while you prepare a plate with garnish to serve in.
- 7
Serve with sticky rice, vermicelli rice noodles, or jasmine rice, or serve as a stand-alone salad. The rice and noodles will help absorb some of the spicinesses of the salad.