Spicy Salmon Sashimi Salad (My Fave Salmon Ever)

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During my last trip to Thailand I visited an iconic restaurant called Jeh O Chula to try a viral instant noodle dish, which I then recreated. But while I was there, I tried another one of their signature dishes which blew me away; their raw salmon salad, which instantly became my favourite salmon dish ever. Fresh salmon tossed in a spicy, garlicky, lime dressing...it's incredibly delicious I could have it everyday. Lucky for us, it's very easy to make at home!

a plate of thai salmon salad with mint and lime slices garnish.

What is a Thai Salmon Salad?

In Thai this dish is called yum pla salmon sod (lit.: raw salmon salad), but to be clear this is not a traditional Thai dish (and salmon is not a Thai ingredient!). It's a dish that Jeh O came up with, and this is what they call it on the menu.

"Yum" is a type of Thai salad, so in theory a dish with this name can be any kind of yum that uses salmon as a main ingredient, but in this particular version, salmon is the ONLY main ingredient, and the salad dressing is the classic Thai seafood dipping sauce, nam jim seafood.

The Most Important Component: Nam Jim Seafood

There are really only 2 components to this dish, salmon and dressing, and the success of this dish relies entirely on the dressing (assuming your salmon is fresh). The dressing is in fact a sauce that's extremely important within Thai cuisine called nam jim seafood.

"Nam jim" means dipping sauce, and seafood, well, is seafood. It is the sauce that Thai people dip all kinds of seafood in. In fact, Thai people never do seafood without it, and sometimes we dip non-seafood in it as well (try it with crispy pork belly!)

I have shared a recipe for nam jim seafood before that was an all-purpose dipping sauce, but this recipe is slightly different as it was developed specifically to work in this application. You can, however, use this recipe as an all-purpose seafood sauce as well.

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need and important notes about them. For amounts, see the the full recipe card below.

Salmon. You want to buy salmon that is safe for eating raw, so when shopping, ask your fishmonger if it's okay for sashimi. I buy mine (from Sungiven for folks in Vancouver) frozen and specifically labelled as "sashimi salmon." More on this below.
Garlic, you'll need some for the sauce, and if you want, some for garnish. Yes! Garlic for garnish! At Jeh O they put thinly sliced raw garlic on top and I was surprised to find that it actually tastes great together with the salmon. Just make sure you slice it really thin otherwise it'll be overpowering.
Chilies, I use red Thai chilies for this, and feel free to reduce or increase the amount depending on your heat preference.
Cilantro, stems and leaves all together.
Lime juice, fresh only for this recipe!
Fish sauce, read more about choosing good fish sauce here.
Palm sugar, or light brown sugar. Learn more about palm sugar here.
Salt, this is to replace some of the fish sauce to reduce the overall amount of liquid so that the sauce isn't too runny.

Step-By-Step:

Here's a bird's eye view of the process. The full instructions are in the recipe card below, and if this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

process shots for making salmon salad steps 1-4

Blend all sauce ingredients until there are no more big chunks, but there are still some small bits. The amount in the recipe will likely be too small for a jug blender, so a bullet or immersion blender is great for this. Instructions for using a mortar and pestle is also provided in the recipe card.
Cut the salmon first so the pieces are about 2-inches wide, then slice them into ¼-inch thick strips.
Toss the salmon with the dressing.
plate and top with garlic slices, mint leaves, and lime slices for garnish, if desired. Eat it soon or it'll turn into ceviche!

Safety Notes on Working with Raw Salmon

In the video I mentioned that you want "sashimi grade" salmon, but actually, that is not a real grade as determined by any governing body. But I said this to make sure that you stop to question the safety, that you don't just buy any old fish at the supermarket without first checking that it is safe to eat raw. You can read more about raw fish safety in this Serious Eats article, but here's my summary for you.

Fish can be made safe for eating raw by freezing at a very low temperature (much lower than your home freezer so don't try to DIY this) so that any parasites are killed. Farmed salmon is usually free of parasites, but parasites aside, it can still be contaminated with pathogens during the handling and butchering of the fish. So it's important to buy from a supplier who will handle your fish with care and cleanliness, here are some tips for deciding where to buy your raw fish from.

If possible, buy from a vendor who specializes in seafood, rather than a generic grocery store. Not only do fish tend to be fresher from these places, you can talk to the vendors directly to ensure that the fish you're buying is safe for eating raw.
Look around the shop for clues of cleanliness: the vendor should have a shop that is clean, doesn't smell fishy, and staff should practice safe handling practices such as wearing gloves and cleaning work surfaces regularly.
One easy option is to buy sashimi from your trusted Japanese restaurant. It'll be more expensive than buying from a fishmonger, but you'll at least be sure it's safe, and you don't have to cut anything!

And once you bring the fish home, now it's YOUR turn to make sure you handle it with cleanliness and care! Here are some tipes:

Make sure you wash your hands properly, with soap, before handling the fish.
Use a fresh, clean cutting board and knife to cut the fish.
Keep your fish in the fridge until ready to use, and eat it soon after preparing.
To thaw frozen salmon, wrap it in paper towel and allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight. Thawing in the fridge ensures that the fish never reaches "dangerous" temperature (room temp) as it thaws, and the paper towel will help absorb the excess liquid that comes out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this dish in advance?

You can make the dressing up to a day in advance and keep it in the fridge, but longer than that and the colour will start to dull and the flavour of the lime juice will not be as good.

But don't toss the fish and the sauce together until ready to eat, because once you mix the salmon with the dressing, the acid in the dressing will slowly "cook" the salmon and turn it into ceviche, which will change the texture and colour of the salmon. So ideally, you should eat this dish right away, or at least within 20 minutes of it being made.

Can I substitute another kind of fish or seafood?

Yes, absolutely, as long as you ensure that said seafood is safe to eat raw. I can see this sauce being fantastic with raw scallops, hamachi, or even tuna. The dressing will work well with any kind of seafood because, after all, it is a nam jim seafood! But be sure not to cut the seafood so thin that it will be overwhelmed by the dressing.

What if I have leftovers?

Try not to make more than you can eat as it's not gonna be the same the next day. If you do have leftovers, you can keep it in the fridge and eat it the next day, but you will discover that the salmon looks like it's been cooked; because it has been "cooked" by the acid in the sauce. It will actually still taste fine, but the texture will have firmed up significantly.