Pla Goong (Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad) Recipe (2024)

Dear friends,
Let us not be too judgmental when a substitute is asked for. I live about 45 miles from a grocery that sells some of the ingredients in this salad so I will just have to wing it if I want to make something like it. So be of good cheer and think about your intolerances and try not to be too critical of others. And yes cilantro does taste like soap to some.

BTW, I am not averse to either of these. Just not available where I live. And let's hold the snarky comments and make this a place where we can not be judged by our questions.

Lime leaves and even the bird chilies freeze well. Buy them next time around an Asian market and keep in freezer. Same with galangal and lemon grass

This sounds delicious. However, I wonder if there are any substitutions for lime leaves and bird chilies?

I peeled my shrimp and put the shells in my pot of water to boil. After removing the shells, I cooked the shrimp. I was able to toss the shrimp right in the waiting sauce. Got the benefit of the shell flavoring without the hassle peeling cooked shrimp. Enjoyed the dish very much.

If you don't like Cilantro, try using Culantro. It is a better substitute than Parsley. The taste is close enough to Cilantro but just slightly less strong. If you can't get the Kaffir lime leaves, increase the amount of Lemongrass. Also, I have used Sriracha or Guilin Chili paste when I don't have the Thai paste on hand. wadesglobalkitchen.blogspot.com

Thank you for your lovely comment. We all need to be of good cheer especially when we see what is going on the world. We may love to cook and enjoy terrific food. However, we do not all reside in areas where all the ingredients are readily available. Substitution is sometimes not an option. Helpfulness is much better than criticism.

Cilantro is a major taste in many Asian foods. It can always be replaced by any green leafy herb but the taste will be vastly different. Parsley is often suggested but I feel it is not a strong enough taste to compete with Asian flavours. My suggestion would be watercress or arugula , finely sliced, rather than salad sized leaves. They have more depth and the "garden" taste that cilantro usually adds.

If you have trouble finding some of the Thai-specific ingredients, I can highly recommend http://importfood.com ; I have ordered the Keffir lime leaves, lemongrass, tamarind pulp and more over the years. Bonus: lots of great, authentic recipes on the website, with videos!

There was nothing wrong with your question. Some of the comments below are so hostile. Why be mean when you can encourage.

I get discouraged when I see cilantro in a recipe. I am one of those people who loathe cilantro (a genetic thing that affects about 10% of the population). Normally I just leave it out, but I would appreciate it if recipe writers would acknowledge this, either by suggesting substitutions or noting that it can be left out.

It's tough to find a substitute for kaffir lime leaves. Lime zest is probably your best bet. Thai bird chiles are quite hot. Serrano chiles would be a good substitute and tend to be more readily available. Vietnamese and Thai markets tend to have kaffir lime leaves and the chiles; other Asian markets rarely, if ever, do. Both are available online (and at their store) from Kalustyans.

Try fresh lemon verbena leaves and/or lime zest as sub for lime leaves. As for bird chillies, I think Jalapeño /serrano would work really well here; plus they are available almost anywhere. If you like it hotter go for the habanero.

I've been eating Thai food since the early '70s. This type of dish, which is more appetizer than entrée, is typically served with thin rice noodles, not rice. I would recommend substituting noodles for rice in a comparative experiment.

I've never heard of using sliced raw lemongrass in a salad, especially in this quantity. It's kind of woody and usually it's cooked out just for flavor but not actually eaten (like in Tom Ka Gai coconut milk chicken soup), or if you eat it, it's ground with other ingredients to make a seasoning paste. Did anyone make the dish with this much lemongrass (and like it)?

A good store cupboard recipe is boil a couple tbsp brown sugar with 100 mls water. Add 1 dried chilli, smashed garlic & ginger. Boil 5 minutes without letting it reduce down too much. Let cool a bit before adding fish sauce and lime juice. (too hot destroys the flavour) I have added cider vinegar/lemon when there isn't enough juice. Make this ahead, add bits and bobs to taste. Look for dried ingredients you can play with, galangal, bottled lemongrass. Strain off before using.

also, if you're willing to wait, amazon is a good source of most things exotic: kaffir lime leaves, thai bird chilis, galangal, lemongrass. much can be frozen. be of good cheer. it will work out.

at times i must rest to amazon (yes, i know) for lemongrass, galangal, bird's eye chili, lime leaves. none are available in my area. as someone else mentioned, they freeze well. haven't tried to freeze the chilis, as i use them up in other dishes..

Made as directed subbing a jalapeno for the chili and served as an appetizer paired with a zippy, grassy Sauvignon Blanc. It was a huge hit! I'll definitely make this again but with the suggested rice to sop up all the delicious juice.

I used serrano chilies, added a little more cilantro and mint and skipped the lime leaves. I also used a no name Thai hot chile sauce I had (and not too much of it because it is quite hot) because I didn't have the nam prik pao. I also added peanuts. Made it for lunch and it was a great hit.

Just wondering if any of this can be made ahead of time and later assembled? Going away to someone's house and in charge of lunch.

The sauce tasted great at first. But the addition of lemongrass later on in the recipe completely overwhelmed the sauce and introduced an unpleasant fibrous texture to the final dish. Will leave out lemongrass altogether next time or maybe grate the lemongrass on a microplane and reduce the overall amount.

This was a wonderful summer dish. I chilled it in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes prior to serving. Next time I make this I will grill the shrimp to get a nice char on them before marinating in the sauce. My wife was blown away and we will be making this again in the near future.

What a great dish! I made it almost directly from the recipe (I used bottled lime juice), but next time I might put a little more shrimp into it. I could eat the nam prik pao straight from the jar.

Agree with everybody about using other chilies for the Thai chili and lemon for lime; lemongrass is never eaten raw. This is a typical Southeast Asia salad and never serve over rice or noodle. To serve over rice and noodle one grills the following: shrimp, fish, pork, beef, chicken and tofu using this recipe dressing and lettuce. It’s similar to what president Obama ate in Hanoi with Anthony B. BTW, please do not substitute parsley for cilantro, add more mints.

I have tried in VAIN to buy galandgal at a Korean grocery. Living in the DC suburbs, you'd think I could get that fairly easily. Any substitution or suggestion where I can find it?

In a pinch, I have used leaves from my (Meyer) lemon plant in Thai curries, in case that is helpful. While Kaffir lime leaves are desired, one can also use leaves from other citrus plants for a similar flavor.

I have read that thousands of years ago, cilantro was used by certain groups of people FOR soap. The evolution has been slow for the body, and it is thought that perhaps for some people cilantro reminds them of soap because perhaps their ancient ancestors did make soap from it. (?) I thought it was an interesting thought.

Raw lemongrass has always seemed inedible to me. I'm going to make this dish, but I will saute the lemongrass with the shallot and then add the herbs and juice.

I happen to like cilantro, but if I don't have any on hand, I frequently substitute fresh basil, which has the spiciness of cilantro without the undertone that some folks don't appreciate. If you have some Thai basil growing in a pot it might be nice in this dish.