Best Summer Salad Recipes for Hot Days & Sultry Evenings
Our best summer salad recipes for hot summer days – for picnics in the park, backyard barbecues, lazy lunches at home – and sultry nights when you can’t be bothered going out, include summer salads from across the globe. We have everything from a fragrant Thai herb salad and a zingy Cambodian papaya salad to a herby potato salad and spicy Mexican grilled corn salad.
Summer has started in Australia and other southern hemisphere countries, with scorching weather already being felt in some parts. So we thought we’d update this collection of our best summer salad recipes for our readers planning their summer feasts in the sunshine.
Whether you’re dreaming of beachside barbecues, waterfront picnics or you’re just planning to hibernate in the cool of your home and stay very very still, we’ve got plenty of recipes for cooling summer salads for you.
Some of our best summer salad recipes are our Southeast Asian salad recipes, from a recipe for a fantastic Thai inspired fragrant green salad of aromatic herbs from 100 Mahaseth restaurant in Bangkok to our Cambodian green mango salad with smoked fish recipe. We also have summer salads from everywhere from Mexico to the Mediterranean.
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Best Summer Salad Recipes for Hot Summer Days and Sultry Nights
Our best summer salad recipes for hot summer days and sultry nights include summer salads from right around the globe.
Best Breakfast Salad Recipe with Soft Boiled Eggs, Bacon, Avocado, Sautéed Mushrooms, and Pickles
My best breakfast salad recipe makes one of our best summer salad recipes, a healthy-ish breakfast salad with soft boiled eggs, avocado, crispy bacon, mushrooms sautéed in the bacon juices, crunchy lettuce, sweet cherry tomatoes, and bright tangy pickles.
It’s for those of you who can’t decide between a healthy breakfast or comforting bacon and eggs. And who doesn’t love a deliciously filling breakfast salad?
Guilt-free bacon, eggs and mushrooms – and crispy bacon and mushrooms sautéed in bacon juices at that! – lightened up in a fresh fragrant salad, made all the healthier with zingy pickles, which are so good for our gut-health.
Make your jammy soft-boiled eggs by following Terence’s guide for making perfect soft boiled eggs and sprinkle on sesame seeds, chilli flakes, and cracked black pepper and sea salt.
Best Breakfast Salad Recipe with Soft Boiled Eggs, Bacon, Avocado, Sautéed Mushrooms, and Pickles
Southeast Asian BLT Breakfast Salad Recipe with Jammy Soft Boiled Eggs
Our Southeast Asian breakfast salad recipe with jammy soft boiled eggs makes a bacon, lettuce and tomato breakfast salad drizzled in a quintessential Southeast Asian dressing, topped with soft boiled eggs, and sprinkled with fresh fragrant coriander and crispy fried shallots.
If you enjoyed my more European style breakfast salad recipe above – also inspired by the BLT or bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, as well as my late grandfather Ivan’s simple breakfast of a boiled egg (from his own hens), raw garlic (yep), cucumber and tomato (from his garden), and pickles (homemade) – you’re going to enjoy this.
Especially if you’re a fan of Southeast Asian flavours. You heard right. Because after 12 years living in Southeast Asia, I can’t help but reach for the fish sauce in the same way that I once reached for a Italian balsamic vinegar from Modena when making a salad.
I look to a fish sauce to add umami-ness, saltiness and savoury flavours to more European style salads as much as to Southeast Asian salads. This salad makes a fantastic shared breakfast, brunch or lunch that’s perfect for sultry summer weekend mornings.
Southeast Asian BLT Breakfast Salad Recipe with Jammy Soft Boiled Eggs
Melon Mozzarella Prosciutto Salad Recipe for a Taste of Italy on a Plate
If the traditional Italian appetiser, prosciutto e melone – thin slices of Italy‘s melt-in-the-mouth cured ham wrapped around melon wedges – is too simple for you, or you’re looking for a more impressive or more substantial version of that classic antipasto or aperitivo snack, try this Italian melon mozzarella prosciutto salad recipe. It’s well and truly Italy on a plate!
This melon mozzarella prosciutto salad recipe makes a salad for lovers of the classic Italian appetiser of prosciutto and melon and quintessential Italian ingredients such as buffalo mozzarella and fresh fragrant basil. Pickled red onions add zing, while pine nuts give crunch. It’s a fab alternative for a more impressive or substantial salad or side to fish, roast chicken or grilled meats.
I’ve been making variations of this Italian melon mozzarella prosciutto salad all summer long. I serve it as a filling lunch or light dinner for mum and myself. As much as we love prosciutto and melon – especially alongside that other genius Italian pairing of buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes that is the classic Caprese salad – this salad makes for a more satisfying meal.
Melon Mozzarella Prosciutto Salad Recipe for a Taste of Italy on a Plate
Radish Cucumber Salad Recipe with Salty Feta, Peppery Rucola and Fresh Herbs
My radish cucumber salad recipe with salty feta, peppery rucola and fresh herbs makes a healthy salad that’s packed with so much flavour and texture, it only needs a simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar.
This radish cucumber salad recipe makes my new favourite salad. It’s a satisfying meal on its own, as well as a fantastic side salad to a roast chicken, crispy grilled salmon or a great steak.
The radish, cucumber and green beans provide plenty of crunch, the green peas give sweetness, the crumbly feta lends saltiness and creaminess, while the rucola adds peppery notes, and the herbs fragrance and fresh flavours.
I’d been dreaming up this radish cucumber salad recipe for weeks before I finally tested it and I was so delighted with how it turned out. Now we can’t get enough of it and are practically living on this.
Radish Cucumber Salad Recipe with Salty Feta, Peppery Rucola and Fresh Herbs
Pearl Couscous Salad Recipe with Pomegranate and Pistachios
One of our best Middle Eastern recipes, our pearl couscous salad with pomegranate, pistachios and fresh herbs makes a Middle Eastern salad that’s loaded with texture, flavour and aroma. It’s essentially a traditional village salad with the additions of pearl couscous, pomegranate seeds, pistachios and a mix of herbs, but it’s super versatile. Use bulgur or quinoa and whatever nuts or herbs you have on hand.
It’s one of my favourite Middle Eastern salads, alongside a farmers salad for salata falahiyeh – also called a village salad, Palestinian salad, Arabic salad, and chopped salad or salata na’ameh – and fattoush, like a farmers salad but with the addition of pomegranate seeds or pomegranate molasses and homemade crispy pita chips.
Traditional farmers salads or village salads are found right across the Middle East and Europe and, like my Russian family’s garden salad, consist of classic salad ingredients – tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, maybe capsicums (bell peppers) or olives, fresh herbs (which vary according to what’s grown in the region) salt and pepper, and a simple dressing of olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice. Although I use this classic French vinaigrette on my salads.
It’s a fantastic starter served with Middle Eastern mezze such as hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara, or as a side to meatier mains such as kebabs, meatballs and shish tawook, and this Middle Eastern spiced rice dish.
Pearl Couscous Salad Recipe with Pomegranate, Pistachios and Fresh Herbs
Watermelon Feta Salad Recipe with Red Onion, Mint, Dill and Balsamic
If the weather is still warm where you are and you’ve been doing what I’ve been doing and buying up the last of the sweet juicy watermelons before watermelon season ends, then please try this easy Greek watermelon feta salad recipe for a thirst-quenching watermelon salad with feta, red onion, and fresh mint and dill. It’s one of the best Greek recipes.
You’ll love this watermelon and feta salad if you made and enjoyed our Cypriot watermelon, tomato and halloumi salad from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and if you adore that combo of fruit and cheese in salads and starters as much as we do. You do? Then try our Caprese salad of buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil from Southern Italy Capri, another Mediterranean island.
I love serving this watermelon feta salad with barbecued or grilled meats such as these Greek souvlaki, smoky char-grilled chicken skewers or Cypriot keftedes, gently spiced meatballs and sides of tzatziki, Greek cucumber and yoghurt dip and a Cypriot village salad or classic Greek salad.
For a proper Mediterranean feast, which would be wonderful for a weekend lunch or early dinner before daylight savings ends, I’d start the meal with some meze, Mediterranean style small plates and dips, such as homemade taramosalata and a Greek red pepper feta dip, or even these Greek blistered cherry tomatoes on goats cheese.
Watermelon Feta Salad Recipe with Red Onion, Mint, Dill and Balsamic
Zingy Sardine Salad with Celery, Cos, Capers and Mustard Dressing Recipe
This zingy sardine salad with celery, cos lettuce, capers and mustard dressing makes a quick and easy salad that’s mostly assembled with pantry staples – a can of sardines, jars of capers, cocktail gherkins, wholegrain mustard, extra virgin olive oil, and white wine vinegar. If you have those in the kitchen cupboard, you only need to buy celery, lettuce, and fresh dill.
I started making this lively sardine salad late last year after returning to Australia to see my mum and discovering these fantastic canned sardines at the supermarket. I now keep a stack of tinned sardines and eat them a few times a week – partly because they’re so delicious and partly because sardines are just so good for us.
One of our best tinned fish recipes, this sardine salad was one of those clean-out-the-fridge cum pantry concoctions – leftover celery from ragu alla Bolognese, baby cos left from a salad, quick-pickled shallots I needed to use up, and sour cream from the batch of pelmeni and vareniki I made virtually as soon as I arrived. Then I reached into mum’s fridge and pulled out all the opened jars.
Zingy Sardine Salad with Celery, Cos, Capers and Mustard Dressing Recipe
Panzanella Salad Recipe for the Tuscan Bread and Tomato Salad that Tastes of Summer in Italy
This easy panzanella salad recipe makes the delicious Tuscan style bread and tomato salad that tastes of summer in Italy. It’s another of our absolute best summer salad recipes.
A bread salad that was made with onions and cucumbers before tomatoes arrived in Italy, it makes use of stale bread, the hallmark of povera cucina, the no-waste cooking of the countryside. A traditional recipe, it’s versatile – just don’t tell your Italian friends we said that.
While this panzanella comes together quickly in around 15 minutes, Italian cooks recommend making panzanella at least 2-3 hours ahead of serving and letting it rest in the fridge so the bread really soaks up the extra virgin olive oil and vinegar – sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar.
We had leftover panzanella the other evening, which I returned to the refrigerator, and it tasted even better the next day. The pieces of bread were a little softer, but still firm, and had soaked up the extra virgin olive oil and sherry vinegar so they were even more flavourful.
That means you can make this well ahead of your spring picnic, weekend lunch in the sun or alfresco summer dinner. No need to leave it until the last minute. It’s only going to get better the longer it sits, which is perfect for leisurely afternoons in the sun.
Panzanella Salad Recipe for the Tuscan Bread and Tomato Salad that Tastes of Summer in Italy
Turkish White Bean Salad Recipe with Soft Jammy Eggs for Antalya Style Piyaz
Our Antalya usulü piyaz recipe will make you my take on an Antalya style Turkish white bean salad. It’s the most quintessential dish of Antalya, a beautiful beachside Mediterranean city in southwest Turkey where we spent months writing guidebooks in an Ottoman house in the Old Town years ago.
Very different to fasulye piyazi, the traditional Turkish bean salad you may have eaten at restaurants in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey, Antalya piyaz is unique to Antalya and the surrounding region.
Also called tahinli piyaz, as the white bean sauce is made with tahini, it’s typically served with köfte and ison the menu at almost every Antalya eatery, from sit-down restaurants to simple take-away spots.
Going out for köfte piyaz or taking it away to eat at home or on a picnic in one of Antalya’s many seaside parks is something of a local ritual, especially in the summertime.
Antalya Style Turkish White Bean Salad Recipe with Jammy Soft Boiled Eggs for Antalya Piyaz
Greek Salad Recipe for Horiatiki – Traditional Greek Village Salad with Feta
This Greek salad recipe makes horiatiki, a traditional Greek village salad made with Greek feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, onions, and Kalamata olives, doused in a simple dressing of Greek extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar, and a shower of dried oregano.
If you’re a fan of Mediterranean food, and especially Greek food, make this easy Greek salad recipe for a side salad or a light yet filling lunch. It’s one of our best Greek recipes and it’s fantastic served with an array of Greek mezedes (dips, snacks or appetisers).
Or if you’re looking for ideas for a simple but really delicious weekend meal for a casual gathering, make this salad, some Greek meatballs, and serve them with tzatziki (Greek yoghurt cucumber dip) and a stack of warm pita bread. Perfect. If you love a Greek salad, try Terence’s Greek salad bruschetta made with his homemade olive sourdough bread with rosemary, thyme and red capsicum.
Greek Salad Recipe for Horiatiki – Traditional Greek Village Salad with Feta
Fig Salad with Prosciutto, Buffalo Mozzarella, Chicken and Balsamic Glaze
The best figs I’ve ever tasted were plucked from a tree in the front yard of our hospitable driver in Southern Lebanon’s beautiful, ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. I’ll never forget biting into the plump, warm, sun-kissed fig he handed to me, the sticky juices of the sweet, luscious fruit dripping down my chin and wrist. It was a revelation.
It’s hard to beat a plate of fresh sweet figs served with a soft white cheese and slices of salty cured ham, and this easy fig salad with prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and chicken, dressed with a balsamic glaze, is essentially a more elaborate and more filling version of that fantastic snack that screams summer in the Mediterranean.
Fresh seasonal figs are the star of this fig salad with prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and chicken with a balsamic glaze dressing. While you’ll see this Mediterranean salad made with spiced stewed figs, if you’ve got juicy fresh figs the last thing you want to do is cook them. Serve this versatile fig salad on its own as a light meal or as an appetiser or side salad as part of a Mediterranean feast.
Fig Salad with Prosciutto, Buffalo Mozzarella, Chicken and Balsamic Glaze
German Potato Salad Recipe with Bacon, Celery and Scallions
Nobody wants warm food on a summer’s day, unless it’s fish and chips or a roast chicken accompanied by a cold salad. But I make an exception for this German potato salad recipe, which makes a warm potato salad with a dressing of fried celery, scallions or spring onions, and bacon.
While we have the Spanish conquistadors to thank for taking potatoes to Europe in the 16th century – Peru is where potatoes were first cultivated thousands of years ago – and we have the Germans to thank for inventing the classic potato salad.
Northern Germany is where the classic creamy potato salad with mayonnaise originated, while Southern Germany is the provenance of this German potato salad recipe made with slices of pink waxy potatoes, bacon and onion or scallions, and a hot dressing traditionally made with bacon fat, vinegar and mustard.
This salad is also fantastic with chicken schnitzel or a chicken schnitzel burger (or any burger for that matter) and a side of coleslaw, and of course you can also eat it at room temperature or even chilled in the fridge. It still tastes delish.
German Potato Salad Recipe for a Warm Potato Salad with Bacon, Celery and Scallions
Shredded Chicken Salad Recipe with Cucumber, Carrot and Daikon
This shredded chicken salad recipe with cucumber, carrot, daikon, and sesame chilli oil makes one of our best summer salad recipes. It’s a deliciously light yet filling salad that’s perfect for a casual lunch or dinner.
Like so many of our original dishes, this shredded chicken salad was the result of an experiment with leftovers. We had a little Sichuan sesame sauce left over from a bang bang chicken salad we’d had for dinner the previous night.
We also had loads of grated carrot and daikon from the char siu pork burger recipe with Asian slaw we’d just photographed and published, plus we had shredded poached chicken breasts in the fridge, plenty of crunchy cucumbers, and sprigs of fresh coriander I’d picked from our herb garden.
I threw it all in a bowl, added chilli oil to what was left of the sesame sauce, drizzled that over the lot, dished it up, and sprinkled on some sesame seeds. It was so good. Now it’s on repeat.
Shredded Chicken Salad Recipe with Cucumber, Carrot, Daikon, and Sesame Chilli Oil
Spring Chicken Salad Recipe with Cabbage, Greens and Fragrant Herbs
This Mediterranean style spring chicken salad recipe makes a fantastic year-round salad with what are traditionally considered spring vegetables, such as sugar snap peas, cucumbers and cabbage. Fragrant with fresh mint and dill, drizzled with a garlicky lemony Middle Eastern style yoghurt dressing, and sprinkled with sesame seeds and sumac, this salad uses leftover rotisserie chicken, but you could always use poached chicken.
We eat warm juicy rotisserie chicken legs the first night with one of my potato salads – such as this warm German potato salad or potato salad with anchovies, capers and chives. Then I’ll slice the chicken breasts up to use in a salad – such as this fig, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, and chicken salad – or use two forks to pull apart the chicken breast meat.
I use the leftover pulled chicken in grilled cheese sandwiches the first day for lunch, then split the rest between shredded chicken salads, or use the pulled chicken in a soup, such as this wonderful rice soup with green vegetables I’ve been making recently, or a Southeast Asian style rice soup or congee or chicken noodle salad. We have lots more leftover rotisserie chicken recipes here, as well as poached chicken recipes if you have leftover poached chicken breasts.
Spring Chicken Salad Recipe with Cabbage, Greens and Fragrant Herbs
Japanese Potato Salad Recipe with Cucumber, Carrots, Corn, Eggs and Ham
Our Japanese potato salad recipe makes a quintessential Japanese potato salad and it’s one of our best summer salad recipes. If you’ve travelled in Japan you may have come across it on the menus at Japanese izakayas, discovered it in that bento box you bought on the bullet train, or enjoyed it as a side served with tonkatsu.
While a typical Japanese potato salad comprises partly-mashed diced potatoes, finely sliced cucumbers and carrots, corn kernels, boiled eggs, ham, and Japanese mayonnaise, it’s acceptable to add anything to it really.
Japanese cooks will often use it as an excuse to clear out their refrigerator vegetable drawer. There are a few things you shouldn’t change, however, starting with starchy potatoes, which give Japanese potato salads a texture somewhere between a classic potato salad and potato mash.
Finely sliced carrots and cucumbers are also essential and can be sliced with your sharpest kitchen knife or you can use a mandoline. You should also use Japanese mayonnaise, such as Kewpie mayonnaise, along with Japanese rice vinegar
This Japanese Potato Salad Recipe is One of the Most Versatile Potato Salad Recipes You Will Make
Burmese Cucumber Salad Recipe with Sesame Seeds, Green Chillies and Crispy Fried Shallots
This Burmese cucumber salad recipe makes a crunchy cucumber salad with sesame seeds, green chillies, purple shallots and crispy fried shallots with a dressing of fruit vinegar and sesame oil.
It’s based on two cucumber salad recipes from Myanmar that I’ve adapted from the charming vintage Burmese cookbook Cook and Entertain the Burmese Way (1978) by Mi Mi Khaing.
No matter the season, we love to eat it with this incredibly rich Indian-style Burmese chicken curry or this classic Burmese chicken curry (two of our favourite chicken curry recipes and probably some of our favourite chicken recipes), this Burmese coconut rice, fiery chilli lime pickles, a spicy mango chutney, and cooling Indian raita.
Burmese Cucumber Salad Recipe with Sesame Seeds, Green Chillies and Crispy Fried Shallots
Vietnamese Chicken Salad Recipe with Crunchy Cabbage and Crispy Shallots
This classic Vietnamese chicken salad recipe will make you another of our best summer salad recipes. We make it with pulled poached chicken but you can also use rotisserie chicken pieces.
It’s fresh, fragrant, textured, and flavourful, not only courtesy of the ingredients, but that quintessential Southeast Asian salad dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and chilli.
In summer, you can eat it just as it is, as a one-bowl meal or with other salads, and maybe slices of crusty baguette. In winter, you can serve it with warm chicken alongside a warm Vietnamese rice porridge or hot Vietnamese soup.
Vietnamese Chicken Salad Recipe with Crunchy Cabbage and Crispy Fried Shallots
Japanese Style Cabbage and Cucumber Salad Recipe with Sesame Seeds and Roasted Seaweed
This Japanese style cabbage and cucumber salad recipe is made with quintessential Japanese ingredients. Roasted seaweed or nori sheets and black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds give it a fantastic texture.
The dressing of Shichimi Togarashi Japanese Seven Spice (we recommend the S&B brand), Japanese sesame oil, Japanese soy sauce, Japanese rice vinegar, mirin and grated ginger give it a delightful tartness.
It’s the perfect side to Japanese fried chicken, pork tonkatsu, katsu burgers, or any Japanese comfort food, really. it’s such a breeze to make, too, and can be made within ten minutes. Although let it sit longer and it tastes even better as the cabbage softens and the flavours meld together.
Japanese Style Cabbage and Cucumber Salad Recipe with Sesame Seeds
Fragrant Potato Salad Recipe with Garden Peas, Fresh Herbs and Aromatic Spices
This potato salad recipe with peas, fresh herbs and fragrant spices makes a bright, aromatic salad inspired by some of my favourite potato salads and fresh herb salads.
My inspiration was four of my favourite salads: Chalee Kader’s herb salad, pictured above, the zesty Burmese potato salad, below, a Persian salad by Lucy and Greg Malouf which I came across in Australia Gourmet Traveller from their book New Feast, and classic Russian potato salads.
The salad comes together quickly, it’s absolutely delicious, and it makes a fantastic side salad to so many dishes.
Fragrant Potato Salad Recipe with Garden Peas, Fresh Herbs and Aromatic Spices
Bang Bang Chicken Salad Recipe
Our bang bang chicken salad recipe is based on one of our all-time favourite Chinese dishes, the classic Sichuan bang bang chicken typically served as one of an array of starters at Sichuanese restaurants.
It was while testing poached chicken breast recipes that the idea of transforming the delightfully tongue-tingling, spice-laden bang bang chicken into a lighter yet still filling salad came to us, and it’s been on repeat ever since.
Crisp lettuce, crunchy cucumbers and fresh coriander really lighten it up, turning it into a salad as addictively delicious as its mother dish.
It’s a cinch to make, too, and comes together quickly, making it another of our best summer salad recipes.
Bang Bang Chicken Salad Recipe for a Fresh Light Take on the Spicy Sichuan Speciality
Cypriot Watermelon Tomato Halloumi Salad Recipe
You’ll love this recipe for a watermelon tomato halloumi salad from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, if you’re a fan of the fruit and cheese combination in salads and starters – the best representation of that match being the Caprese salad of buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, from another Mediterranean island, Capri, off the coast of Southern Italy.
I know some baulk at combining tomatoes and watermelon, but tomatoes are also a fruit, after all. Both are juicy fruits, but while cherry tomatoes burst in the mouth, chilled watermelon pieces melt deliciously, especially on a sweltering day. The salty chewy slices of pan-fried halloumi provide a wonderful contrast of texture and flavours, while the red onion or purple shallots bring crunch and bite, and the herbs give fragrance and freshness.
Serve this salad with gently spiced Cypriot meatballs or barbecued or grilled meats, such as smoky char-grilled chicken skewers for Greek souvlaki with the Greek cucumber and yoghurt dip, tzatziki. For a proper Mediterranean feast, start with meze such as homemade taramosalata and a Greek red pepper feta dip, and make a couple more salads, such as this Cypriot village salad, a classic Greek salad or Greek blistered cherry tomatoes on goats cheese.
I shared this watermelon tomato halloumi salad recipe as part of a series of recipes for the salads I had on rotation over summer, including this Italian melon, buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto salad (a fancier version of prosciutto e melone, the classic aperitivo snack and appetiser from Italy), this refreshing Greek watermelon feta salad with fresh mint and dill, and a Mediterranean style chicken salad with spring vegetables and a garlicky lemony Middle Eastern dressing.
Refreshing Watermelon Tomato Halloumi Salad Recipe from Cyprus
Burmese Potato Salad Recipe with Tamarind, Chilli, Fried Onion and Fragrant Mint
This Burmese potato salad recipe makes a light potato salad with tamarind, chilli, fried onion, and fragrant mint, and it’s easily another of our best summer salad recipes.
A kick of heat from the mild green chillies, a little sweetness and sourness from the tamarind juice, crunch from the fried shallots, and the perfume of fresh mint make this one of the best Burmese salads to accompany your curries.
The simple tamarind-based sweet-sour salad dressing, the crunchy raw onions, fresh perfumed mint, chillies, and crispy fried shallots give this potato salad enough flavour and texture that you won’t miss the creamy mayo one bit.
I’ve adapted this potato salad slightly from my favourite Burmese cookbook, Mi Mi Khaing’s Cook and Entertain the Burmese Way, published in 1978, which I highly recommend if you’re a lover of Burmese cuisines.
Burmese Potato Salad Recipe With Tamarind, Chilli, Fried Onion and Fragrant Mint
Chicken Noodle Salad Recipe with Sesame Dressing, Pan Roasted Peanuts and Coriander
This chicken noodle salad recipe with sesame dressing, pan-roasted peanuts and fresh fragrant coriander makes a cold noodle salad that’s made with buckwheat noodles and shredded poached chicken, doused in a sesame dressing, and textured with crunchy pan-roasted peanuts, sesame seeds and fresh fragrant coriander.
This chicken noodle salad recipe makes my delicious take on what must have been one of the most popular salads of the 2022 northern hemisphere summer.
Perfect for summer, it’s a versatile year-round dish. You can present it chilled, which you’ll want to do on a hot day, but you can also serve it up as a warm salad, which essentially turns it into a noodle dish, when it will call for a runny soft-boiled egg or two.
It’s super easy to make, coming together in half an hour, which will see it getting filed in this collection of noodle recipes made in 30 minutes or less, as well as this compilation of our best poached chicken breast recipes.
Chicken Noodle Salad Recipe with Sesame Dressing, Pan Roasted Peanuts and Coriander
Lao Shredded Chicken Salad Recipe for Yum Gai Tom
Our Lao shredded chicken salad recipe with fragrant herbs, fish sauce and lime juice makes yum gai tom, based on a recipe by the late Phia Sing, head chef of the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang, from the book Traditional Recipes of Laos.
It’s made with crunchy cucumbers, fresh coriander, dill and mint, and poached chicken breast, but it’s you could easily exchange the poached chicken with leftover rotisserie chicken pieces.
Phia Sing used a whole chicken, along with two ripe tomatoes, which he dipped in hot water for a minute, peeled, halved, sliced lengthways and discarded the core and seeds. I’ve skipped the tomatoes, but you could certainly add those.
The palace chef also used shallots and garlic, which he placed in the embers of a charcoal fire (I will give that a go one day and report back), and only used coriander. I’ve added fresh mint and fresh dill, which are found in a lot of Lao salads, and are so refreshing.
Lao Shredded Chicken Salad Recipe with Fragrant Herbs, Fish Sauce and Lime for Yum Gai Tom
Russian Mimosa Salad Recipe
This Russian mimosa salad recipe makes a layered salad from the Soviet Union or USSR that was typically served for festive spring holidays such as Easter, however, I love making it during summer as well. It’s fantastic for entertaining, as it’s portable.
The original Soviet-era salad was layered in a glass bowl or served as a kitschy salad cake. My Russian mimosa salad recipe is presented a little differently to that salad, which you might recall your parents or grandparents serving almost like a savoury trifle in the 1970s.
Because like Russia’s beef Stroganoff and chicken Kiev, the mimosa salad was another Russian dish that travelled the world at a time when most Russians couldn’t leave the Soviet Union, became tremendously popular outside the USSR, especially in the Seventies, and now being revived as retro-cool classics.
I prefer to present my mimosa salad as fun DIY salads in individual glasses with a spoon, or with a bowl and condiments for guests to customise their salads.
Russian Mimosa Salad Recipe for the Soviet Union’s Festive Layered Spring Salad
Best Coleslaw Recipe with Purple Cabbage, Crunchy Carrot and Pickled Pink Shallots
Our best coleslaw recipe is made with purple cabbage and pink pickled shallots and has more colour, texture and tang than the average coleslaw thanks to the crunchy cabbage and zingy pickles. This colourful coleslaw is a feast for the eyes and is as delicious as it looks. It’s a fantastic side to schnitzel, burgers and barbecue.
I love the combination of white or green cabbage (Chinese cabbage, napa, savoy, they all work) and purple cabbage, also called red cabbage, for the colour as much as the texture. The white/green cabbage softens a little after you dress the cabbage and carrot, while the purple cabbage remains crunchy, giving the salad great texture.
But if you prefer your coleslaw to be creamier and softer, reduce the amount of purple cabbage by half and double the amount of white or green cabbage, make the coleslaw a day ahead, double the amount of mayonnaise, and refrigerate the coleslaw so it softens.
I recommend using a mandoline or one of these small hand-held wavy peelers for the carrots but a good old-fashioned box grater or a food processor with a shredding attachment will work. When it comes to the mayo, we love Hellmann’s creamy mayonnaise or the Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise.
Best Coleslaw Recipe with Purple Cabbage, Crunchy Carrot and Pickled Pink Shallots
Russian Salmon Potato Salad Recipe with Soft-Boiled Eggs
One of my favourite summer salads, my family’s salmon potato salad recipe with soft-boiled eggs, capers, gherkins and dill makes a filling salad that you can eat year-round. In the cool season, you can serve it with warm potatoes and seared salmon straight from the pan, while in summer it can be refrigerated for warm weather meals, such as barbecues and picnics.
In summer and spring, I suggest dressing it with little else but extra virgin olive oil, quality sea salt and good ground black pepper, but in winter, I strongly recommend adding creamy mayonnaise and combining everything well. In that case, the runnier the eggs the better, but otherwise, in warm weather, soft jammy eggs are what you want.
Terence has an excellent guide to boiling perfect eggs every time. This salmon potato salad recipe was a bit special and generally only made appearances on holidays, such as Orthodox Easter and Christmas, when my family would top it with spoonfuls of caviar. If you enjoy this, you’ll find more of my family recipes here.
Russian Salmon Potato Salad Recipe with Soft-Boiled Eggs, Gherkins, Capers and Dill
Thai Fried Egg Salad Recipe for Yam Khai Dao
This Thai fried egg salad recipe for yam khai dao is another of our best summer salad recipes. It makes an addictive salad of crispy fried eggs with sweet tomatoes, purple shallots, crunchy peanuts, fragrant coriander, Chinese celery, chillies, and a sweet and sour salad dressing.
A Thai ‘yam’ or ‘yum’ is a salad comparable to a tossed salad. The Thai word ‘yam’ in fact doesn’t mean salad as such, but means to mix, toss or combine together. In contrast to a salad such as som tam, which is pounded together in a mortar and pestle, the salad ingredients are combined in a bowl and plated.
This style of salad is all about the combination of textures and flavour, as much as vibrancy and aroma. The salad ingredients need to be super fresh, fragrant and vibrant and the dressing needs to be intensely flavoured, like a good dipping sauce.
‘Khai dao’ in Thai means ‘fried egg’, but quite literally ‘star egg’, and it’s a Thai style of fried egg, which means its deep-fried or fried in a lot of oil so that the egg has a crispy texture and is brown. Part of our series, Weekend Eggs, on quintessential eggs dishes from around the world, this is one of the best summer salads.
Thai Fried Egg Salad Recipe for Yam Khai Dao, a Deliciously Addictive Crispy Fried Egg Salad
Shan Tomato Salad Recipe with Shallots, Sesame and Coriander
Easily another of our best summer salad recipes, this Shan tomato salad recipe with shallots, sesame and coriander will make you a sweet tomato salad textured with crunchy purple onions, sesame seeds and crispy fried shallots and garlic, and fragrant fresh coriander.
Hailing from beautiful Shan State in northeastern Myanmar – a fertile region of forested mountains, rolling hills and serene lakes – this delicious Shan tomato salad is mostly made with crunchy green tomatoes, although we’ve also had it with red tomatoes in Myanmar, and a mix of both red and green. It’s terrific with either – or both.
It’s typically eaten as a refreshing accompaniment to rich curries and rice, but as far as I’m concerned it’s one of the best summer salads you can make. We adore Shan salads and Burmese salads.
If you enjoy this, don’t miss our Shan vermicelli noodle salad recipe and Burmese raw cabbage salad, below. Not salad, but this Burmese street food-style fried chicken is also fantastic with this salad.
Shan Tomato Salad Recipe with Shallots, Sesame and Coriander from Shan State, Myanmar
Caprese Salad Recipe for an Italian Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella and Basil Salad
If you love Italian food and a classic Italian Caprese salad made with big juicy beefsteak tomato (pomodoro) and buffalo mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala), which traditionally come as larger balls of rich creamy fresh mozzarella, you’ll love our Caprese salad recipe. It’s one of my favourite recipes with tomatoes.
Our Caprese salad recipe makes the classic Italian tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil starter from Italy‘s Capri and Campania region with two tweaks: we use vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, which are sweeter, and bocconcini, which are smaller balls of buffalo mozzarella.
Better for feeding a crowd and a better side if serving with a main – although traditionally insalata Caprese is an appetiser, so don’t tell your Italian friends!
Caprese Salad Recipe for an Italian Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella and Basil Salad
Cypriot Tomato Salad Recipe for a Simple Summery Mediterranean Salad
Cyprus has a salad similar to the traditional Greek feta salad called horiatiki, but I really love this simple village salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, and red onions, doused in quality extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar. It’s one of my favourite tomato salad recipes.
Just as a Greek salad is a great side dish to Greek meatballs, this simple, summery Cypriot tomato salad is fantastic served with Cypriot meatballs. I love a simple village salad made with beautiful fresh seasonal produce – such as this Middle Eastern farmers salad and my Russian-Ukrainian baboushka’s garden salad.
Just as you would in Greece, on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus you’d eat the Cypriot tomato salad and meatballs with warm pita bread and the cucumber yoghurt dip, tzatziki, called talatouri in Cyprus. That’s a perfect lunch or dinner. Or you could serve the salad with an array of meze or mezedes, the dips, snacks and starters eaten around the Mediterranean.
Cypriot Tomato Salad Recipe for a Simple Summery Mediterranean Salad
Yum Chee Fresh Herb Salad Recipe from 100 Mahaseth Bangkok
This fresh herb salad recipe makes one of the best summer salad recipes, a big fragrant bowl of Yum Chee from chef Chalee Kader’s 100 Mahaseth restaurant, a casual Isaan region-focused nose-to-tail eatery in Bangkok‘s hip Charenkroeung neighbourhood that is one of the Thai capital’s most sustainable restaurants.
‘Yum’ is a salad and ‘chee’ is herb’ in Thai and there are three key herbs in the dish: Puck Chee or coriander, Puck Chee Lao or dill, and Puck Chee Farang or Sawtooth coriander. One of my favourite summer salads, it’s akin to a European-style green salad, yet it’s distinctly Southeast Asian in its sweet and sour flavours and zesty-ness.
For me, its European-ess comes from the green-ness of this green salad and lack of crunch and combination of textures typically associated with Thai salads such as som tam (the fiery Northeastern salad made with green papaya) and khao yam (a herb and rice salad from Southern Thailand with a gazillion ingredients).
Of course, dill and sawtooth coriander are used in northeastern Thai cooking and the list of ingredients includes some of those you’d find in som tam, although just a tiny fraction of the chillies used in the fiery Isaan salads.
Fresh Herb Salad Recipe for Yum Chee from 100 Mahaseth Restaurant Bangkok
Cambodian Green Papaya Salad Recipe
Our Cambodian green papaya salad recipe makes Bok Lahong or Nhoam Lahong, one of our best summer salad recipes. A fresh, aromatic, crunchy papaya salad that is a little funky, a little spicy, a little sour, a little salty, and a little sweet, it’s a well-balanced salad.
This is arguably what sets it apart from its bolder cousins in Laos (where pounded salads are called Tum Som), Thailand (Som Tam), and Vietnam (Gỏi Đủ Đủ), which are, respectively, a lot funkier, more fiery, and more fragrant.
The green papaya salad can be both a ‘nhoam’ and a ‘bok’ in Khmer. A nhoam or gnoam is a salad made with ingredients that are cooked, such as poached chicken, wok-fried prawns, barbecued pork, etc. The other kind of salad is a p’lear, which is made with raw ingredients, such as raw beef or raw fish that are ‘cooked’ in a lime juice-based dressing in much the same way as a ceviche or eaten raw like an Italian carpaccio.
‘Bok’ and ‘pok’ are ancient Khmer words that mean to smash or beat against something, such as a pestle pounding a mortar, and you’ll need a big mortar and pestle to make this. ‘Bok’ is also the sound that’s made by the pestle hitting the mortar, as in ‘bok, bok, bok, bok’ (Thais say ‘pok, pok, pok, pok’) – and it usually applies to papaya salads, of which there are countless, as well as dips and relishes.
Cambodian Green Papaya Salad Recipe – How to Make Cambodia’s Bok Lahong
Thai Green Papaya Salad for a Thai Som Tam
Another of the best summer salads, this classic Thai som tam recipe makes the popular Thai green papaya salad that you’ll find made on the streets of Thailand. In fact, you’ll hear the ‘pok pok pok pok’ sound of som tam ingredients being pounded in an enormous mortar and pestle before you actually see the som tam stall.
Although Thai som tam originated in Thailand’s Isaan region, and many of you would automatically associate pounded green papaya salads with Thailand, the fiery salad is not unique to the country. Papaya salads are found right across northern Southeast Asia, from Myanmar to Vietnam, and they share more similarities than differences.
You’ll also come across green papaya salads in Laos, where the Lao people call their pounded salad a tum som and it’s practically considered the national dish in Laos. The Lao people believe that tum som originated in Laos from where it travelled south to northeastern Thailand. The history is more complicated than that of course. I also provide some tips below for jazzing up a basic som tam.
Classic Thai Som Tam Recipe for a Thai Green Papaya Salad Plus Tips for Jazzing Up Your Som Tam
Mediterranean Inspired Cherry Tomato Salad Recipe
This easy cherry tomato salad recipe is the best tomato salad recipe ever if you want a taste of summer on the Mediterranean, and it’s another one of our best summer salad recipes. It’s super quick and easy to make – so easy that after you make this you’ll never have to look at this recipe again.
The key to making this summer salad taste great is fresh, flavourful produce and top quality ingredients. In my dreams I’m using the sweetest tomatoes and crunchiest cucumbers from Lebanon, the grassiest extra virgin olive oil from Valencia, sweet red onions from Tropea, briny capers from Pantelleria, Ortiz salted anchovies from Spain, aromatic Italian basil from Liguria, and, of course, the juiciest olives from Kalamata and finest feta cheese from any village in Greece.
Munching into this has me dreaming about the summer holidays we used to have on the Mediterranean, diving from rocky ledges into the turquoise waters in southern Turkey, reading in between snoozing by hotel pool overlooking colourful Positano, long sweaty late afternoon walks along the forested paths that snake around Capri.
Easy Cherry Tomato Salad Recipe for a Taste of Summer on the Mediterranean
Shan Vermicelli Salad Recipe with Sesame, Coriander and Peanuts
Another of my favourite summer salads, this Shan vermicelli salad recipe with sesame, coriander and peanuts makes a deliciously light vegetarian noodle salad from Shan State in northeastern Myanmar, but you’ll spot variations of this dry noodle dish in markets and on menus around the country.
Typically eaten as a contrasting accompaniment to rich oily curries it could also be eaten as a satisfying single-bowl meal, which is how I love to eat it in summer. This Shan vermicelli salad is one of countless delicious salads and dry noodle dishes that distinguish the food of Shan State and Myanmar more generally.
The many cuisines of Myanmar – Shan cuisine, Burmese cuisine, Rakhine cuisine, Kachin cuisine, Karen cuisine, and so on – boast an infinite array of salads, which are healthy, refreshing and light yet filling. Discovering them is one of the many delights of a food-focused trip to Myanmar.
Shan Vermicelli Salad Recipe with Coriander, Sesame and Peanuts from Shan State
Cambodian Long Bean Salad with Smoked Fish Recipe
This Cambodian long bean salad with smoked fish recipe makes bok sondek trey cha-er and for me it’s the Cambodian equivalent of a European green salad. As delicious as it is, you might not eat it on its own just as you probably wouldn’t eat a lettuce, tomato and onion salad by itself. But it’s the best accompaniment to barbecued or grilled meats or fish, a soup and steamed rice.
I love this Cambodian long bean salad but unlike some of the other Cambodian salads here, such as the pork and jicama salad, which I’d happily tuck into on their own for a filling lunch or light dinner, this salad is best shared as part of a family meal, with steamed rice and perhaps a soup, a grilled fish or barbecue meats.
The inclusion of ‘bok’ in the title tells you that this is another pounded or partly-pounded salad – and it should be pounded in a big wooden mortar and pestle. Don’t use a stone or granite mortar and pestle, which are best for making curry pastes and Cambodian kroeungs (herb and spice mixes), as you don’t want to completely crush everything to mush.
I like to give the beans a light pound, just enough for them to break, as I still want the salad to have crunch. If you’ve never used a mortar and pestle before, we have some tips.
Cambodian Long Bean Salad with Smoked Fish Recipe for Bok Sondek Trey Cha-er
Thai Grilled Eggplant Salad Recipe
This Thai grilled eggplant salad recipe makes a delightful salad of smoky pieces of creamy eggplant with sweet red shallots, aromatic mint, the umami of fish sauce, a sublime soft-boiled egg, and a kick of chilli.
This salad is best when the eggplant is straight from the grill or barbecue, and combined with the other ingredients just before serving.
Light, fragrant and flavourful, this smoky grilled eggplant salad makes a fantastic side dish, one of an array of dishes if you’re cooking up a Thai feast, or a filling main course if you add a five-minute egg and a bowl of jasmine rice, as we do.
It’s another of our best summer salad recipes and comes courtesy of chef David Thompson. If you’re Australian, you may remember the salad from Sailor’s Thai restaurant in Sydney back in the day, Nahm restaurant in Bangkok when it was helmed by David, or you might also have spotted it in his Thai Food cookbook.
Delightful Thai Grilled Eggplant Salad Recipe with Red Shallots, Fragrant Mint and Soft-Boiled Eggs
Burmese Green Mango Salad Recipe
This Burmese green mango salad recipe makes one of Southeast Asia’s best green mango salads and it;s another of the best summer salads you can make on a hot day as it’s so refreshing and zesty.
Where the Thai green mango salad is notable for its spiciness, the Cambodian green mango salad for it funkiness, and the Vietnamese green mango salad for its fragrance, the Burmese green mango salad is the most balanced and textured.
In northern Southeast Asia, where green mango salads can be found in every country, with variations both across the region and within provinces, cities, towns, and villages within each country, this Burmese green mango salad recipe makes one of Southeast Asia’s best green mango salads.
Our Burmese green mango salad recipe is based on a salad we learnt to make in a cooking class in Myanmar and a Burmese green mango salad recipe recipe that I’ve adapted from my favourite Burmese cookbook, Mi Mi Khaing’s Cook and Entertain the Burmese Way, dating to 1978.
Burmese Green Mango Salad Recipe for the Best Southeast Asian Green Mango Salad
Cooling Creamy Cucumber Sour Cream Salad Recipe
One of our 30 recipes to make in June, this cucumber sour cream salad recipe makes one of my Russian-Ukrainian family recipes, a creamy cucumber salad that has crunch from the cucumbers and shallots, zing from lemon and vinegar, tang from pickles and sour cream, and fragrance from fresh dill. The Eastern European style salad makes a fantastic addition to a zakuski table or a delicious side dish for cabbage rolls or kotleti (chicken cutlets).
As you’ve probably guessed from our cucumber salad recipes, – from this salad of crunchy cucumber spears tossed in our easy vinaigrette piled onto a creamy butter bean purée to this Burmese cucumber salad, Japanese cucumber cabbage salad and radish cucumber salad – we eat a lot of cucumbers in Cambodia.
We love our cucumber salads, but despite me calling this a cucumber sour cream salad recipe, it actually makes an Eastern European style cucumber side dish, that’s more akin to, say, Indian raita, the cooling accompaniment to spicy Indian curries, such as this Punjabi chole or chickpea curry or Indian-style Burmese curry.
My Russian-Ukrainian grandmother presented her cucumber sour cream salad as an appetiser or zakuski, an array of small dishes that served as starters, which would then stay on the table to be eaten with mains, in the same way this Middle Eastern style cucumber yoghurt salad is served with kofta kebabs, baharat meatballs, falafel, and fried kebbeh.
Creamy Cucumber Sour Cream Salad Recipe with Shallots and Dill
Classic Russian Garden Salad Recipe
My classic Russian garden salad recipe makes another of our best summer salad recipes. It’s a simple tossed green salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and onion that my baboushka served with every family meal when I was growing up in Sydney in the Seventies.
The addition of fresh dill and pink radishes add fragrance and crunch, setting it apart from other classic European garden salads. As simple as the salad sounds, it was the perfect companion to heartier dishes she served, such as Russian cabbage rolls, borscht, beetroot and potato salad, and vareneki and pelmeni (Russian dumplings).
My baba’s garden salad was exceptional, because most of the ingredients were just picked from papa’s backyard vegetable garden. Baba and papa had a market garden in Seven Hills when they were younger, and papa grew vegetables in their backyard at Blacktown – and also had chooks, made pickles and distilled vodka. Papa’s tomatoes were the sweetest I’ve ever tasted, his radishes the zestiest, and his cucumbers the crunchiest.
This Classic Russian Garden Salad Goes on the Table for Every Russian Meal
Cambodian Pork Salad Recipe with Yam Beans and Herbs
This easy Cambodian pork salad recipe with yam beans is another of our best summer salad recipes, packed with aromatic Southeast Asian herbs and peanuts, it’s a light, refreshing dish with fragrance, texture, crunch, and spicy pork flavours.
Made with yam beans or jicama, it’s fantastic eaten on its own or part of a Cambodia feast. It’s not only incredibly delicious but also very healthy. Yam beans or jicama are known for their abundance of vitamins, fibre and minerals and can be eaten raw and cooked. Cooks in Cambodia love yam beans, which are used in salads to add crunch, as well as in deep fried spring rolls.
If you can’t find yam beans and still want to make this easy pork salad recipe with yam beans, jicama is very similar in taste and texture to a slightly unripe green apple – but note that you’d have to add your julienned apple to a salad at the last minute to avoid discolouration.
Easy Pork Salad Recipe with Yam Beans and Aromatic Southeast Asian Herbs
Mexican Grilled Corn Salad Recipe
This Mexican grilled corn salad recipe can be made from scratch or can be assembled using any leftovers from the grilled corn on the cob street food snack called elotes if you make that first. It’s easily one of our best summer salad recipes and is a terrific salad for using up corn leftovers.
We first began making these and other Mexican dishes after we returned to Australia following our first trip to Mexico way back in 1993, when we backpacked all over the country. We snacked on elotes and esquites, also called elote en vaso or corn in a cup everywhere from Mexico City to Merida.
When we got back home to Australia we were missing Mexico and Mexican food so much that we started having Mexican-themed dinner parties and drinks at our Sydney apartment to transport us back as much as give our friends a taste of Mexico for an evening.
We do our corn on a griddle pan in the kitchen or a traditional clay brazier on the balcony here in Cambodia. You could also use an outdoor barbecue or grill or stovetop Korean BBQ grill pan.
If you’re up for a full Mexican/Tex-Mex food feast, see our recipes for sopa de tortilla from San Miguel de Allende, tacos al pastor, chili con carne, easy red tomato salsa, authentic Mexican guacamole, quesadillas, and our ultimate nachos. We also have recipes for classic margaritas and micheladas, both fantastic summer drinks.
Mexican Grilled Corn Salad Recipe for a Taste of Mexico at Home
Classic Banana Flower Salad Recipe
This recipe for a banana flower salad – also called a banana blossom salad – makes the Cambodian banana flower salad called gnoam trayong chek in Khmer, another one of our best summer salad recipes.
Our banana flower salad includes shredded poached chicken but you could make a vegetarian version. It’s super-easy, you just need to work fast so your banana flower doesn’t brown. It’s a fragrant and crunchy salad that is all about the texture and aromas.
This salad falls into the category of ‘gnoam’ salads here in Cambodia. A gnoam, which you’ll also spot spelt as nhoam, is a fresh salad that’s prepared with cooked ingredients, such as poached chicken in this case.
The other sort of salad you’ll come across in Cambodia is called a p’lear, which features raw ingredients, such as raw fish that’s ‘cooked’ in a citrus-based dressing, like a ceviche is, or with raw beef, served like an Italian carpaccio.
Classic Banana Flower Salad Recipe for Cambodia’s Gnoam Trayong Chek
Grilled Corn Salad Recipe With Lime, Chilli and Lemongrass Mayo
Inspired by the traditional Mexican grilled corn salad, above, and the corn salads of the backyard barbecues of my childhood growing up in Sydney, Australia, this grilled corn salad recipe with lime, chilli, lemongrass mayonnaise, and sourdough croutons is another one of our best summer salad recipes.
The salad uses up grilled corn on the cob leftovers from your weekend barbecues (I used up the leftovers I had from this char-grilled corn with lime butter and lemongrass mayonnaise to create this recipe) and those hard sourdough bread ends you didn’t finish.
Terence happened to have a crunchy end of near-stale sourdough, as, avid sourdough baker that he is, he’s pulling homemade sourdough boules out of the oven every few days (if you’re new to sourdough baking, see his excellent easy sourdough beginner’s guide), so I asked him to make some sourdough croutons and crunchy toasted sourdough crumbs, which gave this fragrant grilled corn salad fantastic texture.
Grilled Corn Salad Recipe With Lime, Chilli, Lemongrass Mayo and Sourdough Croutons
Cambodian Green Mango Salad and Smoked Fish Recipe
Our green mango salad with smoked fish recipe makes Cambodia’s nhoam svay trei chhae, an aromatic salad full of texture and flavour, thanks to the raw fruit and vegetables, crispy smoked fish, dried shrimp, crunchy peanuts, and a classic Cambodian dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, birds eye chillies, and palm sugar.
As with all Cambodian and northern Southeast Asian salads in this style, always make your dressing first to let the flavours meld together. But always add the dressing last to the actual salad so it doesn’t get too wet and soggy.
The smoked dried fish involves a little bit of preparation that is not difficult but it’s a bit fiddly. In Cambodia, we buy skewers of the small smoked fish, which are smoked in rustic homemade wood-fire smokers, just as they have been for well over a thousand years.
Look for Southeast Asian style dried smoked fish in a good Asian supermarket or Chinatown. It’s worth it! It’s easily another of our best summer salad recipes.
Green Mango Salad and Smoked Fish Recipe for Cambodia’s Nhoam Svay Trei Chhae
Russian Beet Potato Salad Recipe
This Russian beet potato salad recipe makes vinegret, a creamy pink potato and beetroot salad that is fragrant with dill and delightfully tangy, thanks to the gherkins and capers.
Based on my baboushka’s recipe, it was a staple at family meals and holiday feasts, Sunday lunches and summer picnics. I’ve been making it for as long as I can remember, and always make it over the summer.
Despite the fact I can make it in my sleep, this beetroot and potato salad turns out a little differently each time and the main difference is the colour.
It could be a pale pink like the salad below or a deep dark ruby-pink in this photo. Fresh beetroots always result in a more vibrant colour than tinned beetroots. I definitely recommend the former.
Russian Beetroot Potato Salad Recipe for Family Meals and Holiday Feasts
Cambodian Pork Larb Recipe
Our pork larb recipe makes Cambodia’s laab sach chrouk, a stir-fried minced pork salad that’s combined with fresh fragrant herbs, infused with the delightfully funky flavour of fish sauce, dusted with toasted rice powder, and served with crunchy vegetables and steamed rice, is another of our best summer salad recipes.
We’ve been cooking and eating Thai larb since the 1980s when we first began cooking and eating Thai food in Australia, but it wasn’t until we moved to Siem Reap, Cambodia, from Vietnam in 2013 that we first tasted Cambodia’s wonderful pork laab – also spelt as larb and lab here.
Cambodians have their own larb though it’s very much a case of ‘same same but different’ when you compare the Cambodian laab sach chrouk minced pork salad to the larb minced salads from Thailand and Laos.
The differences between this pork larb recipe and other larb salads are subtle. The Thai larbs are more spicy, the Lao larbs are more earthy, and the Cambodian larbs are more fragrant. We love them all.
Pork Larb Recipe for Cambodian Laab Sach Chrouk – A Fragrant Pork Mince Salad
Tasty Thai Larb Gai Recipe
Another one of the best summer salads you can make on a scorching day, this tasty Thai larb gai recipe makes a classic spicy minced chicken salad from Thailand. Gai or kai is chicken in Thai.
Laab, also written as laab, laap, larp, lap, and lab are the Thai, Lao and Khmer names for this type of minced meat salad that’s found right across northern Southeast Asia, in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar’s Shan States, and China’s southwest Yunnan. Vietnam has a similar salad but the pieces of meat are larger. It is super easy to cook, comes together in minutes, and is very versatile.
This recipe is adapted from David Thompson’s Thai Street Food cookbook, and it makes a gently-spiced ground chicken salad, however, you can easily heat things up with more chillies.
Made with minced chicken breast that’s quickly stir-fried in chicken stock, fish sauce, lime juice, salt, sugar, garlic, and shallots, this light Thai ground chicken salad is combined with loads of fresh fragrant herbs and sprinkled with chilli flakes and toasted rice. It’s served with crunchy vegetables such as cabbage, cucumbers, and snake beans, and eaten with steamed jasmine rice or sticky rice.
Tasty Thai Larb Gai Recipe for a Spicy Minced Chicken Salad from Thailand
Corn Salad Recipe with Bacon, Pearl Couscous, Parsley and Fried Shallots
Our corn salad recipe with bacon, pearl couscous, parsley and fried shallots is full of texture and flavour. Corn kernels are combined with crispy bacon, chewy pearl couscous, flat leaf parsley, and paprika piled onto garlicky yoghurt, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and showered with crunchy fried shallots. It’s fantastic with roast chicken, meatballs and kebabs.
This addictively delicious corn salad came about because I was craving this spicy Southeast Asian flavoured grilled corn salad with lime, chilli, lemongrass mayo, and sourdough croutons, which I concocted in our Siem Reap kitchen years ago during Cambodia’s corn season.
If you’re a lover of corn salads, also try these recipes for Thai corn salad with tomatoes, green beans and peanuts, our Mexican grilled corn salad with Mexican cheese, chilli, coriander, and lime, and this Thai take on an American cobb salad by Thai chef Ian Kittichai. More recipes for dishes with corn here.
Corn Salad Recipe with Bacon, Pearl Couscous, Parsley and Fried Shallots
Caprese Pasta Salad Recipe Inspired by the Classic Italian Salad from Capri
Our easy Caprese pasta salad recipe is inspired by the classic Italian Caprese salad from the idyllic Mediterranean island of Capri of sweet juicy tomatoes, creamy buffalo mozzarella and fragrant basil, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and optional balsamic vinegar.
Just as deliciously simple, my recipe makes Caprese in the form of a pasta salad. It’s made with cherry tomatoes, bocconcini, and cooled, cooked, dried orecchiette, doused in extra virgin olive oil, drizzled with balsamic glaze, and showered with fresh basil.
You can follow my recipe and make this quick and easy pasta salad from scratch. Or combine leftover Caprese salad you might have with cooled, cooked dried orecchiette or another favourite pasta.
This might not be one of those recipes that make even better leftovers, because it’s pretty hard to beat a great Caprese salad. But it’s a fantastic use of Caprese salad leftovers to make a speedy pasta salad that’s almost as delicious as the original classic Italian salad.
Caprese Pasta Salad Recipe Inspired by the Classic Italian Salad from Capri
Cambodian Grilled Beef Salad Recipe
This Cambodian grilled beef salad recipe makes nhoam sach ko, a simple but refreshing salad made with lightly grilled marinated beef, infused with fresh fragrant herbs, in a classic Cambodian dressing of lime juice, fish sauce and garlic, and it’s another of our best summer salad recipes. It’s a fantastic dish to share alongside a few other barbecue dishes, a soup and a curry or two.
When it comes to beef salads in Cambodia, there are essentially two types. There is one salad where the raw beef is marinated in lime juice and herbs (lemongrass is essential for this) and served after it has been ‘cooked’ in the lime juice in the same way that a ceviche is.
This kind of cold salad is called a p’lear or plea in Khmer and along with beef you’ll find fish and seafood salads made this way. The other kind of salad makes this Cambodian grilled beef salad recipe, where the meat is marinated for a short amount of time and grilled quickly over charcoal before being dressed.
This kind of salad is called a nhoam or gnoam and this refers to salads where the key ingredients, such as beef, chicken, fish or seafood, are actually cooked in a wok or on a grill, before being combined with raw or lightly cooked vegetables, aromatic herbs, a dressing, and ingredients that add texture such as dried shrimp or peanuts.
Cambodian Grilled Beef Salad Recipe – How to Make Nhoam Sach Ko
Russian Potato Salad Recipe for the Olivier Salad
This Russian potato salad recipe for Olivier Salad or ensalada Rusa makes a Russian salad dating to the 1860s, when it was invented at a celebrated Moscow restaurant. Served at family meals, especially at Russian Easter and Christmas, it’s another fantastic summer salad for barbecues and picnics but is also a filling winter salad served as a side to steak, sausages or roast.
My potato salad recipe makes the modern take on the Olivier salad, which was invented by the chef of a famed Moscow restaurant in the 19th century, and popularised in the 20th century during the Soviet period. The potato salad recipe would then go on to travel the world, becoming known as ensalada Rusa everywhere from Madrid to Mexico, Barcelona to Buenos Aires.
The typical Soviet-era Russian potato salad ingredients list included potatoes, carrots, onion, peas, gherkins, and mayonnaise, which was ever-present. Mayonnaise was considered to be the glue that bound the Soviet states together.
The Olivier salad was more luxurious, comprised of seasonal ingredients such as crayfish tails, caviar, smoked duck, veal tongue, grouse, and capers. While ingredients were diced, it didn’t contain potato.
Russian Potato Salad Recipe for the Olivier Salad Also Known as Ensalada Rusa
Spanish Potato Salad Recipe for Ensaladilla Rusa
This Spanish potato salad recipe makes ensaladilla Rusa or ensalada Rusa, one of the most popular Spanish tapas dishes found in tapas bars in Spain and abroad, and it’s another of our best summer salad recipes.
‘Ensalada’ means ‘salad’ in Spanish and when you see ensalada Rusa on a menu, it will usually come as an appetiser size that’s called ‘raciones’. ‘Ensaladilla’ means little salad and is a smaller size potato salad in the typical tapas snack size. And ‘Rusa’ of course means Russia.
My recipe is based on an ensaladilla Rusa recipe by British born chef Marc Fosh who has lived in Spain for decades. In his original recipe, the chef boils the potatoes, carrots, peas, and beans. I don’t love soft olive-coloured peas and beans, so I blanche the beans and peas so they’re still bright green and firm.
The chef includes green olives in his recipe but I like more tang, crunch and acidity, so I’ve included a teaspoon of pickled onions (see my recipe for pink pickled shallots), which I’ve chopped finely, and tiny capers in brine. If you can only find the larger capers, best to chop them in thirds.
Spanish Potato Salad Recipe for the Popular Spanish Tapas Dish Ensaladilla Rusa
Cambodian Cucumber Salad Recipe
This Cambodian cucumber salad recipe for nhoam trasak – also spelt gnoam trasak or gnoam tra-sakk – makes a fantastic filling salad that you can eat year-round, if you’re lucky to live in warmer climates, such as Southeast Asia, or a colossal country like Australia, where you can source cucumbers throughout the year.
Traditionally shared in Cambodia, where, like most of our salads above, it’s eaten family-style with rice, and perhaps an array of other dishes, you could also serve this as a satisfying single-bowl meal for lunch or dinner. cucumbers are fantastic in summer salads.
Keep them refrigerated until you’re ready to use them and thanks to their high water content, they remain crunchy and cold for quite a while. Hence the expression “cool as a cucumber”. The addition of fried bacon, smoked dried fish and dried shrimp are what make this salad more filling and a great year-round salad for me.
This is a classic Cambodian cucumber salad, yet you’ll find countless variations in Cambodia, so do feel free to tweak this – just as Cambodians do. It’s easily another of the best summer salad recipes for this scorching heat.
Cambodian Cucumber Salad Recipe for Nhoam Trasak, a Fantastic Year Round Salad
Thai Corn Salad Recipe
Another one of the best summer salads, this easy Thai corn salad recipe makes a fantastic filling salad that is the perfect light summer lunch or an ideal side for dinner when paired with spicy Thai fried chicken.
Our recipe makes a simple tossed salad that’s based on a popular Bangkok som tam style pounded salad. Summer for me means corn season and time to binge on my favourite Southeast Asian and Mexican corn dishes made with locally-grown seasonal corn.
Our easy Thai corn salad recipe makes fantastic use of our seasonal corn here in Cambodia, making a light yet filling salad that is ideal for a summer lunch in between swims. It’s also terrific for a casual dinner as a side dish for spicy Thai-style fried chicken.
Thai Corn Salad Recipe for a Filling Summer Lunch or a Perfect Side for Thai Style Fried Chicken
Burmese Raw Cabbage Salad Recipe
Another of the best summer salad recipes, this easy Burmese raw cabbage salad recipe makes a refreshing salad that is delightfully crunchy and slightly tangy, the perfect contrast to rich oily Burmese curries. Often called ‘Burmese coleslaw’ it makes a fantastic side salad for a roast chicken for a picnic basket.
Mostly made with white cabbage, for colour we’ve used purple cabbage or red cabbage, which is incredibly healthy. Raw cabbage is low in calories, high in fibre, and packed with vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin K (for bone health and blood clotting), Vitamin C (boosts immune system, helps iron absorption), Vitamin B6 and folate (good for metabolism and nervous system), and calcium, potassium, and magnesium (great for the heart, gut health and digestion).
Like other red and purple vegetables, fruits and grains, they’re loaded with anthocyanins, a pigment that boasts high levels of antioxidants, which fight cancers and diseases. I’ve adapted this Burmese raw cabbage salad recipe from cookbook author Mi Mi Khaing’s wonderful Cook and Entertain the Burmese Way (1978).
Burmese Raw Cabbage Salad Recipe and the Secrets to Making the Best Burmese Salads
Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe
Not strictly a salad, more like mini hand-held salads, these spicy chicken lettuce wraps are our Southeast Asian take on the Chinese lettuce cups from Southern China and Hong Kong, popularised in Chinese-Australian restaurants in the 1970s.
Our minced chicken lettuce cups take inspiration from northern Southeast Asia, from both savoury larbs (minced meat salads; see above) and the local custom of wrapping street food snacks in lettuce.
Lettuce wraps or lettuce cups are thought to have originated in Southern China, the world’s largest lettuce producer, and Hong Kong, where they’re called ‘san choi bao’, which means ‘lettuce wraps’ or ‘lettuce packets’, and are a Cantonese dish.
In Hong Kong, lettuce wraps typically came with minced pigeon, according to restaurateur Mathew Chan of Peacock Gardens Restaurant in Sydney, who claims to have brought ‘sang choy bow’ to Australia in the 1970s, but opted for pork, beef or chicken mince instead, as pigeon meat wasn’t used much in Australia at the time.
Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe for a Southeast Asian Take on San Choi Bao
Cambodian Pomelo Salad with Prawns Recipe
We’ve presented this Cambodian pomelo salad with prawns in a more modern presentation, below, but you can follow the recipe and serve it in a more traditional style in a salad bowl for sharing. It’s another of the best summer salads for a sweltering day and has been a favourite salad since we moved to Cambodia. It’s also a breeze to make.
Salads are almost always a component of a Cambodian meal and this Cambodian pomelo salad with prawns recipe has the fresh, clean flavours you want to accompany a stir-fry, soup, stew or curry. Sometimes served with pork, this version uses large, fresh shrimps for protein. This recipe uses dried shrimp. In Cambodia, dried shrimp is a serious business.
In Siem Reap, the stands that sell the shrimp at Old Market have regular customers who take time to inspect the different grades and sizes before making a purchase. While you can buy dried shrimp in the local supermarkets, the stalls at Old Market offer far superior quality and are the place to make a purchase.
The pomelo is the largest citrus fruit here and is native to South-East Asia. Similar to grapefruit (which can be used as a substitute in this recipe), it’s less sour and is often a lot more firm.
Cambodian Pomelo Salad with Prawns Recipe – Traditional Dish, Modern Presentation
Published 22 January 2021; updated 26 June 2025
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