As the weather warms up, I start craving fresh and colorful salads that are a total palate party and easy to prepare! Salads that are both; refreshing and hearty and literally awaken and play with all your senses. One such salad is this Thai-inspired Shrimp and Mango Salad, except I had to make a few tweaks, that in my humble opinion; further enhance the bold flavors happening here! Insert creamy avocado chunks, a generous sprinkle of sumac, pickled red onions, and a honey paprika marinade or rub on the shrimp. Can’t compete with these delicious ingredients that together orchestrate a winning bowl.
Good food is made from good ingredients and good ingredients is what makes up really good food. I love the simplicity, the very few ingredients, the fact that you can leave the shrimp or remove it altogether and still have a delicious combo. If shrimp is not your thing- this salad is just as delicious with scallops or chicken.
Whenever I see avocado and pickled red onions, I’m instantly transported to Sundays at the beach when I was growing up. Immediate thoughts of ceviche (a raw seafood dish originally from Peru) and a wide array of other delicious seafood dishes flood my mind. My mom used to me make the BEST seafood recipes, hands down. She would sometimes add asparagus or tomato; whatever she had at hand. Part of what made her salads so great is the fact she would often switch up 1-2 ingredients- but it was the same general concept.
Plot twist: you CAN also make this with raw fish or shrimp. But for some reason- I really enjoyed sautéing the shrimp with a few, simple ingredients. I love to start with an equal amount of butter to olive oil on the pan and use spices like smoked paprika, a pinch of garlic powder and a little bit of sea salt, lemon and honey. You don’t need much to make food taste good; and that’s really the key premise behind this salad.
Make it, try it, share it- I promise you it will become one you’ll make on repeat.
FUN FACT: You can also serve it in your tacos, burritos, burrito bowls or on top of crunchy tostadas. This makes for the best shrimp tacos you’ll ever try! All you probably need is a pinch of your favorite salsa verde or cream. If you’re dairy-free, avocado mayo “cream” or cashew cream are a great alternative.
Enjoy! x
Shrimp, Avocado & Mango Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bag of fresh or frozen (thawed) shrimp
- 1 Tbsp of butter OR ghee
- 1 Tbsp of olive oil
- 1 Tbsp of smoked paprika
- 1/2 Tbsp of honey
- 1/2 tsp of garlic powder or minced garlic
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 large mangos, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 large Hass avocados, sliced into cubes
- 1 large cucumber sliced into thick rounds; then quarters
- 1/3 cup of pickled red onions
- 1 tsp of sumac to garnish
Honey Lime Vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2.5 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder or finely minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Pat dry your shrimp and place them in a bowl. Season with a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper and lightly coat them in half your olive oil.
- Heat up a pan to medium/high heat and warm up the butter and rest of your olive oil. Once hot, add your shrimp. Don’t stack them on top of each other, I like to spread them out and cook for ~2 mins on each side.
- Add your honey, paprika and pinch of garlic powder and stir to coat evenly. Cook for another 3-4 mins; don’t overcook or dry the shrimp.
- For the vinaigrette: throw everything into your blender and blitz for 7 seconds, except for the olive oil. Slowly add it and whisk as you go after you’ve blitzed the rest of the ingredients. It will help everything emulsify and thicken nicely, so yum!
- In a serving bowl, assemble all the ingredients together and mix with a few Tbsp of the vinaigrette, as desired. Store remaining vinaigrette in the fridge in a closed container for up to 3 days. Add you shrimp into the salad as the final step. Garnish with a little bit of sumac and enjoy! x p.s. also great with a pinch of fresh cilantro!
By: Aleyda / The Dish On Healthy
