Thai spicy grilled corn salad (Som Tum Khao Pod) is a light, tasty, healthy recipe that is easy to assemble. The flavors are the same as the Thai green papaya salad, sweet, sour, and salty, all in one bite. A perfectly balanced flavor using fresh ingredients!
This delicious Thai grilled corn salad is a perfect recipe for corn season. For more delicious Thai salads, check out these tasty recipes you'll love too. Spicy Thai grilled eggplant salad with pork. Thai crispy egg salad Yam Khai Dao 
This recipe is a comfort dish that brings me back with each bite of the bold flavors! The food there is typically simple and made with fresh ingredients but has spicy, sweet, salty, sour, and umami flavors. Each bite is a flavor explosion in your mouth!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love Thai grilled corn salad
- What Is Som Tum Khao Pod
- What Does Tum Salads Means
- Main ingredients for making Som Tum Kao pod
- How To Make Thai spicy grilled corn salad
- Helpful Kitchen Notes
- Helpful Kitchen Tools for this Recipe
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Thai Recipes You’ll Love!
- Thai spicy grilled corn salad (Som Tum Khao Pod)
Why You'll Love Thai grilled corn salad
- A perfect summer recipe, especially during corn season.
- The grilling of the corn adds a smokey charred flavor to this Thai corn salad.
- It’s a light and delicious recipe full of bold umami Tam flavors.
- It’s healthy with low calories. It has no added sugar.
- You can adapt the spice level by adjusting the number of chilis used.
- You can eat the salad as a complete meal, sticky rice, jasmine rice, Khanom jeen noodles, or lettuce wrap using romaine lettuce leaves, cabbage, or napa cabbage.
What Is Som Tum Khao Pod
Tum in Thai means pounding, and there are many forms of spicy Thai salad using this pounding technique. Som Tum Khao Pod (ส้มตำข้าวโพด), which means “Sour, pounding corn,” is a sweet corn salad that is mixed with long beans, tomatoes, shredded carrots, peanuts, and seasoned with fish sauce, fresh lime juice, and palm sugar.
I grilled my corn for this recipe for an extra depth of flavor. The added dried shrimp gives the recipe umami flavors that make this salad addicting!
What Does Tum Salads Means
You can Tum many things using this technique. "Tum" or "Tam" means the pounding of ingredients, typically in a mortar and pestle. You can use various fresh fruits like hard green mango, guava, green apples, fresh lotus stems, young banana blossoms, eggplants, and water mimosa.
Sometimes you'll see Kanom Jeen noodles (fermented vermicelli noodles), egg noodles, and even glass noodles used in many of these Tum salads. You can create a simple version of normal som tum or get creative and come up with a random mixture of all sorts of ingredients to get tasty Northeast Thailand salads!
Main ingredients for making Som Tum Kao pod
Some recipes used salted duck egg for the more classic version, but I prefer the dried shrimp better as the ingredients hold up better and add an instant umami flavor to this spicy corn salad. Duck eggs can be difficult to find and make. Using dried shrimp is an excellent choice for this recipe.
- Grilled sweet corn. Fresh corn is best for this recipe. Grilling adds an extra layer of flavor, but you can boil or steam the corn, too, if grilling is not an option.
- Cherry tomatoes. Use any tomatoes you have. Before adding them to the salad, slice them into 1-inch pieces. They add an extra tangy and sweet flavor to the salad.
- Green beans. Traditionally long green beans are used in Thai cuisine. But any beans will work!
- Sliced carrot. Use shredded carrots or slice them thin with a slicer into small shredded pieces.
- Peanuts. Use unsalted peanuts. Almonds and cashew are great substitutes.
- Dried shrimp. They are pungent, but the umami flavors added to the salad are unmatched, and I highly recommend not skipping out on this ingredient. Check the kitchen note section for tips on these.
- Garlic. Use raw fresh garlic rather than the paste.
- Thai fresh chili pepper. Good substitutes are serrano, jalapeños, or whole dried chili. Chili flakes are great for added heat, but use them when finished with the salad rather than pounding it with garlic.
- Palm Sugar. Dark or light brown sugar, monk fruit, coconut sugar, and granulated white sugar will work great for this recipe.
- Lime Juice. Use fresh lemon juice as a substitute if lime is not available.
- Fish Sauce. Highly recommend using three crab brands or a red boat brand for this recipe. It’s lighter and not as salty as the other fish sauce brands.
How To Make Thai spicy grilled corn salad
STEP 1. Grill the corn. Lightly brush the corn with oil before grilling on high for 10 minutes or until the corn looks charred but not burnt. Let cool close to room temperature before cutting kernels.
STEP 2. In a mortar and pestle, lightly pound garlic and chilis. See kitchen tips if you don’t have a mortar and pestle.
STEP 3. Add the peanuts and lightly pound but do not crush the peanuts into paste-like form.
STEP 4. Add the green beans and dried shrimp and pound until the beans are lightly bruised, using a spoon to turn the pieces for an even pounding. Do not turn it into a paste. We want textures.
STEP 5. Remove the mixture in the mortar into a large bowl. Add tomatoes and carrots, sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice. Mix well.
STEP 6. Cut the corn. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the grilled corn from the cob. Add the kernels to the salad bowl mixture. Stir well. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, sliced chilis, or dried chili flakes. Serve as a salad, side dish, or as a main meal. See kitchen notes for ideas on how to serve the salad.
Helpful Kitchen Notes
- Use this technique if you don’t have a mortar and pestle at home. First, make the tum sauce in a small bowl by adding minced garlic chilis, palm sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice. You should have a salty, sour, and sweet chili sauce ready for your salad. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and stir well. You can use your fingers with gloves to massage the salad, too, to help bruise the ingredients and allow the sauce to marinate with the vegetables.
- Another kitchen trick is to add all the ingredients into a large zip lock bag and use a heavy kitchen tool to lightly pound the mixture together. Once the salad looks well bruised and mixed in, remove it from the bag and place it on a serving platter.
- Serve the salad as a lettuce wrap! Use large leafy lettuce, cabbage, or napa cabbage, scoop the corn salad into the leaves, and serve!
- Soak the dried shrimp in water for 5 minutes before use to hydrate and soften the shrimp. It also helps remove some of the salted shrimp's salty taste and fishy smell.
- Toast the peanuts in a pan before using them for a layer of toasted nutty flavors.
Helpful Kitchen Tools for this Recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! Steam or boil your corn until done and use it for Tum Khao Pod Salad. The flavors will be slightly different without the grilling but adjust the seasoning with more fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar as needed.
Absolutely. Broiling will give the smoky charred flavors. Boiling the corn gives it a sweeter taste, so adjust the seasoning as needed once mixing all the ingredients.
No. You don’t need a mortar and pestle to make this salad. See the section on helpful Kitchen tips for an easy method of making this salad without a mortar. However, clay mortar and pestle make Thai Tum salads extremely helpful, especially if you are a huge fan of Thai salads and want to make them regularly.
More Thai Recipes You’ll Love!
- Thai crispy egg salad Yam Khai Dao
- Thai green papaya salad
- Spicy Thai grilled eggplant salad with pork
- Thai morning glory stir-fried recipe
- Thai cucumber salads for satay
- Thai glass noodles with shrimp
- Thai green Mango salad with cashew
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Thai spicy grilled corn salad (Som Tum Khao Pod)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Diet: Low Fat
Description
Thai spicy grilled corn salad (Som Tum Khao Pod) is a light, tasty, healthy recipe that is easy to assemble. The flavors are the same as the Thai green papaya salad, sweet, sour, and salty, all in one bite. It has a perfectly bold and balanced flavor in a simple and healthy salad.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups grilled sweet corn (about 3 corn)
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes. Roma tomatoes work great for this recipe. Slice into 1-inch pieces.
- ⅓ cup green beans sliced 1-2 inches long.
- ⅓ cup sliced carrot
- ⅓ cup peanuts, unsalted
- ¼ cup dried shrimp
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 1-5 2 pcs Thai fresh chili pepper, adjust as needed
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 ½ tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 ½ tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
Instructions
- Grill the corn. Lightly brush the corn with oil before grilling on high for 10 minutes or until the corn looks charred but not burnt. Let cool close to room temperature before cutting kernels.
- In a mortar and pestle, lightly pound garlic and chilis. See kitchen tips if you don’t have a mortar and pestle.
- Add the peanuts and lightly pound but do not crush the peanuts.
- Add the green beans and dried shrimp and pound until the beans are lightly bruised.
- Remove the mixture in the mortar into a large bowl. Add tomatoes and carrots, sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice. Mix well.
- Cut the corn. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the grilled corn from the cob. Add the kernels to the salad bowl mixture. Stir well. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, sliced chilis, or dried chili flakes. Serve as a salad, side dish, or as a main meal. See kitchen notes for ideas on how to serve the salad.
Notes
- If you don’t have a mortar and pestle at home, make the Tum sauce in a small bowl by adding minced garlic chilis, palm sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice. You should have a salty, sour, and sweet chili sauce ready for your salad. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and stir well. You can use your fingers with gloves to massage the salad, too, to help bruise the ingredients and allow the sauce to marinate with the vegetables.
- Another kitchen trick is to add all the ingredients into a large zip lock bag and use a heavy kitchen tool to lightly pound the mixture together. Once the salad looks well bruised and mixed in, remove it from the bag and place it on a serving platter.
- Serve the salad as a lettuce wrap! Use large leafy lettuce, cabbage, or napa cabbage. Scoop the corn salad into the leaves and serve!
- Soak the dried shrimp in water for 5 minutes before use to hydrate and soften the shrimp. It also helps remove some of the salted shrimp's salty taste and fishy smell.
- Toast the peanuts in a pan before using them for a layer of toasted nutty flavors.
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- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Salad
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Thai
Suwanee says
The grilling is also perfect for the summer time. I also love the extra depth of deliciousness too!
Sam C says
Love the flavors of this Som Tam corn! The grilled corn adds depth of flavors that I love. I usually boiled mine but the grilling is now my favorite. Thanks, Suwanee.
Kelly says
Yummy & easy to make! Perfect for corn season now. Full of flavors, our family loved it.
Suwanee says
Funny about the green beans, Brindha! Don't get that confused! LOL. So happy you loved the salad!
Brindha says
Delicious fresh salad ! Easy to follow instructions ! One thing my husband and I joked about was picking red Thai chillis to add to the dish Vs green ones so we don’t confuse them w the green beans - perfect blend of flavors !