Nhoam Svay — Green Mango Salad with Grilled Fish
ញាំស្វាយ
Shredded sour green mango tossed with flaked grilled lake fish, herbs, and a fish-sauce dressing — a bright, crunchy Siem Reap salad built for the hot season.
By Cambodian Cookbook Kitchen · July 5, 2026
សៀមរាប Siem Reap & AngkorFrench Protectorate era, 1863–1953
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Beginner
Nhoam is the pounded, tossed, herb-heavy side of Khmer cooking, and nhoam svay — green mango salad — is its hot-season workhorse. Sour unripe mango shredded fine, tossed with flaked grilled fish, shallots, herbs, and a sharp fish-sauce dressing, it is the plate that keeps a Siem Reap table awake through the worst of the April heat. The version with grilled fish carries a quiet colonial footnote: it was in the protectorate decades, as market economies and cash crops reshaped what turned up in the stalls, that dishes like this settled into their modern shape, built to stretch a little grilled fish across a whole family with a mountain of cheap, sour, sun-loving fruit. It is thrift and pleasure in the same bowl.
Everything about it rewards restraint and speed. Salt the shredded mango and wring it dry so it stays crisp; build a dressing loud enough to season the whole plate in one toss; keep the grilled fish in generous, smoky flakes rather than shredding it to fluff. Then combine at the very last minute and eat immediately, while the mango still snaps and the peanuts are still crunchy. It is sour, salty, sweet, and smoky all at once, cooling and bracing in the way only a good Southeast Asian salad manages — the answer to a hot afternoon, and proof that leftover grilled fish is not a problem but an opportunity.
Salt the shredded mango, then squeeze it dry before dressing. Wet mango dilutes the dressing and goes limp; a firm, drained shred stays crisp to the last bite.
ពាក្យពីចុងភៅ · A word from the kitchen
Ingredientsគ្រឿងផ្សំ
Serves 4
០ of ១១ gathered
The salad
The dressing
Methodវិធីធ្វើ
Step 1: Salt and drain the mango
Toss the shredded green mango with a good pinch of salt and let it sit ten minutes, then squeeze out the liquid with your hands. This keeps the salad crisp and stops the dressing from turning to watery slop.
Step 2: Mix the dressing
Whisk the fish sauce, lime, dissolved palm sugar, chilli, and garlic until the sugar is gone. Taste on a strand of mango: it should punch sour-salty-sweet, loud enough to season the whole bowl in a single toss.
Step 3: Flake the fish
Flake the grilled fish into generous pieces, keeping the smoky char in. If you are grilling fresh, do it over charcoal until the skin blisters, then let it cool enough to handle before you pick the flesh from the bones.
Step 4: Toss and top
Combine mango, fish, shallots, and herbs, pour over the dressing, and toss lightly with your hands so nothing breaks up. Pile onto a plate and finish with peanuts and fried shallots. Eat at once, before the mango weeps.
ឧបករណ៍ · The tools
Equipment
Granite mortar & pestle
ត្បាល់THE Cambodian tool. Kroeung is pounded, never blended — the stone bruises fibre and oil out of lemongrass and galangal in a way a blade only chops. Buy the heaviest one you can lift.
Shop on Amazon →Spider strainer
ចម្រងLift blanched noodles, fried shallots, and spring rolls clean out of hot water or oil in one scoop, before they overcook or turn soft.
Shop on Amazon →Carbon-steel wok
ខ្ទះFor char kroeung, loc lac, and every fast fry — a well-seasoned wok gets screaming hot and moves food fast, the whole point of a stir-fry. Flat-bottomed for a home stove.
Shop on Amazon →Charcoal grill
ចង្ក្រានអាំងCambodian grilling is charcoal grilling — sach ko ang, grilled fish, skewers. The smoke is half the flavour, and a small clay or steel grill is all you need.
Shop on Amazon →Fish grill basket
ចង្អេរអាំងA hinged wire clamp that holds a whole fish or a raft of small ones over the coals and lets you flip everything at once without tearing the skin.
Shop on Amazon →Charcoal brazier (angkeng)
ចង្ក្រានឆ្នាំងThe traditional bucket-shaped clay-and-metal stove that holds a small charcoal fire — for cooking outdoors, hot-pot at the table, or coaxing the slow, smoky heat older recipes assume.
Shop on Amazon →
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Questions from the kitchen
What if I can't find sour green mango?
Firm green papaya or even shredded tart apple with a squeeze of extra lime will carry the crunch and acidity. The point is a hard, sour base that holds its texture against the dressing; ripe sweet mango collapses and will not do.
Do I have to grill the fish, or can I use another protein?
Grilled fish gives the smoky depth this salad is built around, but poached shrimp, shredded grilled chicken, or crisped pork belly all work. Cambodian cooks treat nhoam as a way to stretch yesterday's grill into today's lunch.
Why is my salad watery?
Undrained mango. Salting and squeezing the shred before dressing is not optional — it pulls out the water that would otherwise dilute your dressing and wilt the whole plate. Drain hard and dress at the last minute.
បន្ទាប់ · Cook next
