Ming says: I'm a huge fan of salsa—and this mango salsa has to be at the top of my list. Sweet, fragrant mango is a perfect match for the heat of sambal, and ginger adds a second spicy layer.
As a mango lover from way back—when I was 13, visiting Taipei, I'd eat a mango a day, at four cents per fruit—I can tell you that there's no trick to buying them if you let your nose be your guide. Choose mangos that smell fragrant and sweet, and you'll be rewarded with delicious eating. (Color's not a reliable guide; even green mangos can be perfectly ripe.) The mango should also yield slightly to the touch.
Makes 6 cups
- 5 large, ripe mangos, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 medium red onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 red jalapeños, stemmed and minced
- 1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons traditional spicy sambal or store-bought sambal or hot pepper sauce
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (from 6 to 8 limes)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- In a large, non-reactive bowl, combine the mangos, onions, jalapeños, ginger, sambal, and lime juice, and blend gently. Season with salt and pepper. Use or refrigerate. Lasts 1 to 1 1/2 weeks, refrigerated.
TRY IT
Use the salsa as you would any other—as a dip with chips, with burritos, and so on.
Great as a condiment for grilled meats and fish, curries, and other spicy stews.
For a big flavor lift, add the salsa to black bean soup before serving it.
MING'S TIPS
To dice the mango, first cut the fruit horizontally on both sides of the pit. (Reserve the remaining piece with the pit.) Using a large tablespoon, scoop the flesh from the skin of both halves. Keeping the slices stacked, slice the flesh horizontally, then cut vertically through the stack to dice the flesh. Cut the flesh from the pit on the remaining piece and, as best you can, repeat the dicing procedure. As this can be tricky, I often buy an extra mango to get a whole mango's worth of diced flesh; whatever "extra" mango is left I eat.
To extract maximum juice from a lime or lemon, first roll the fruit under your palm on a hard surface.
>>This recipe appears in
Episode #117.
>> For additional recipes and more, visit
www.ming.com
