I don’t think I can accurately articulate how delicious and fresh this Nam Sod is. Imagine a fresh and zesty ginger and lime dressing that has a little bit of spicy heat, and a deep umami base flavor poured over tender ground pork and piled into lettuce cups, on top a bed of fresh, crunchy lettuce or cabbage, or over a bed of jasmine rice. No matter what you just imagined, I promise the real thing is even better. So just try it. ;)
What is Nam Sod?
Nam Sod is a Thai pork salad seasoned with a flavorful dressing made with lime, ginger, chili, and fish sauce. This stuff is super tasty, nice and light, but completely filling at the same time, which makes it an ideal summer meal.
The version I am sharing below is a simplified nam sod, adjusted for my American kitchen, but if you want to have a taste of the real thing or learn more about this amazing dish, make sure to check out these authentic nam sod recipes:
- Nam Sod from Cooking Thai Recipes
- Nam Sod with Chicken from Healthy Thai Recipes
How to Serve Nam Sod
I served mine over rice just to bulk it out a bit, but it’s often served over greens, like shredded cabbage, or as a filling for lettuce wraps. I bet it would be pretty good over thin rice noodles, too!
Is Nam Sod Spicy?
Nam Sod is traditionally pretty spicy, but my stomach has been a bit sensitive lately, so my version is a little softer. I left out thinly sliced fresh chilis and opted to use a chili garlic sauce instead. To reduce the heat even further in this salad, you can reduce the chili garlic sauce to one teaspoon.
Can I Substitute the Fish Sauce?
Fish sauce gives this dish a very distinct Thai flavor and I don’t suggest you skip it or substitute it. Fish sauce can be strong, but I made sure to use a smaller dose that is going to be a little more palatable for American taste buds.
If you have fresh mint growing, add a few sprigs of that to this salad for an extra fresh kick!
Balancing Cost and Quality
You may also notice the higher price tag for this dish and for the ground pork in particular. As a reminder, my priorities have shifted a bit lately and I’m now trying to buy more responsibly products while still working within my budget. If that’s not something that is a high priority for you at the moment, this recipe may cost you much less. Remember, working on a food budget doesn’t necessarily always mean buying the cheapest food possible. It means making choices based on your needs and priorities, which will be different for each person. Despite my choice to purchase more expensive meat, I’ve still saved substantially over eating out, and that’s what works for me. :)
Nam Sod (Thai Pork Salad)
Servings 4Ingredients
DRESSING
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes) ($0.66)
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce ($0.07)
- 1.5 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.16)
- 1/2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce or sambal oelek ($0.17)
SALAD
- 1 lb. ground pork or turkey ($5.93)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1/2 Tbsp canola oil ($0.02)
- 1/2 red onion ($0.38)
- 1 carrot ( $0.19)
- 1/4 bunch cilantro ($0.25)
- 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts ($1.68)
- 4 cups cooked rice (optional) ($0.72)
Instructions
- Make the dressing first to allow the flavors time to blend. In a small bowl combine the fresh lime juice, fish sauce, fresh grated ginger, and chili garlic sauce. Stir to combine, taste, and adjust the fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, or ginger to your liking. The dressing should be very potent.
- Add the ground pork to a large non-stick skillet along with 1/2 Tbsp canola oil and one minced clove of garlic. Cook the pork over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks, until it is cooked through (about five minutes). Drain off any excess fat and allow the pork to cool a few minutes, or until it is no longer hot.
- While the pork is cooking, peel and shred the carrot using a large holed cheese grater or mandolin. Slice the red onion into very thin strips. Pull the cilantro leaves from the stems.
- Transfer the cooled pork to a bowl, add the prepared dressing, and stir to combine. Add the shredded carrot, sliced red onion, cilantro, and peanuts. Stir to combine again. Serve the salad over a bed of cooked rice, shredded greens, or fill large lettuce leaves with the mixture for lettuce wraps.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Nam Sod – Step by Step Photos
Start with the dressing so the flavors have a bit of time to blend. Combine 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, (about 2 limes), 1 Tbsp fish sauce, 1.5 Tbsp grated fresh ginger, and 1/2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce. If you don’t have chili garlic sauce (or sambal oelek), you can add a minced clove of garlic and some red pepper flakes. Fish sauce is a main flavor here, so it can not be substituted. You should be able to find fish sauce in the ethnic food aisle of most major grocery stores, at some health food stores, or at ethnic markets.
Next, cook 1 lb. of ground pork (or turkey) with 1/2 Tbsp canola oil and one clove of minced garlic. Sauté the ground pork in a large non-stick skillet until it’s cooked through (about five minutes). Avoid overcooking the pork as you want to make sure it stays moist and tender for the salad. Drain off any excess fat and allow it to cool slightly.
Once mostly cooled, transfer to a large bowl and pour the dressing over top. Stir to combine.
While the pork is cooking/cooling, peel and shred one carrot. You can use a large holed cheese grater for this, a spiralizer, or mandolin. Thinly slice 1/2 of a small red onion, and pull the leaves from about 1/4 bunch of cilantro.
Add the carrot, onion, cilantro, and 1/2 cup unsalted PEANUTS (sorry, I forgot the peanuts in the photos) to the seasoned meat.
Stir the salad to combine. And that’s it! (adjustments can be made to the dressing even at this point if it’s not where you like it).
I served my Nam Sod over a bed of rice because I wanted to really bulk it up, but a lot of people eat it over greens or inside lettuce wraps. I made sure to get a little bit of the dressing from the bottom of the bowl to drizzle over the rice. MMMmmmm.
I <3 Thai flavors.
This is now a favorite go-to dish of ours. Good with pork, good with turkey, just plain DELICIOUS!
Made this tonight. I’ve never had Nam Sod before and this was so delicious!! So fresh and bright but filling. Into the rotation. I can’t believe how inexpensive it is (even here in Canada). I’ve never been disappointed on this site. Thank you for all you do.
Delicious Nam Sod recipe! Not since I’ve eaten at Yum Yum Thai in Tucker, GA have I eaten any as good. The sauce was fantastic, next time I will double. My husband said this is so good, the spicyness is perfect. Thanks for sharing.
I didn’t see the comment about not overcooking the pork and purposefully waited until it was nice and crispy, which didn’t bother me. I used a cast iron and didn’t have to add any extra oil. I also stirred everything together in the pan with the heat off for a few min so the veggies softened just a bit.
Yum Yum. Craving Thai and it’s exactly what I was hoping for! Quick and easy
Best recipe ever! I make this all the time and it’s better than some Thai restaurants I’ve been to!
Oh my! This was divine! I added mint leaves from my garden. We had it over Jasmine rice, and my husband had three helpings. Thanks for making me look good again.
I don’t usually talk about modifications, but I had to improvise a chili-garlic sauce for this recipe and the result was spectacular. This recipe gets the fish sauce & lime juice balance right and grating the ginger is a great touch. For the chili-garlic sauce put 6 cloves of garlic, 5 or 6 Sichuan peppers, 2 TBS.cooking oil, and 1+ TBS sweet Thai chili dipping sauce (can also use duck sauce or orange marmalade) in a blender or small food processor bowl and blend until the peppers and garlic are incorporated. Add it to the other dressing ingredients and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours as the recipe says. Also I second the addition of mint leaves. Really good, served as a small party appetizer and it disappeared instantly.
I made this and served it on top of coleslaw mix (it already has the shredded carrots!) It turned out delicious, a definite keeper
Tried and true recipe! Followed every step and it won my husband over who loves Thai food. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Cherryl!
This was amazing, delicious, and easy to prepare. It is better than the recipe I order from our local restaurant at a fraction of the price. Thank you so much!
I made this for a Christmas party last year and served it as lettuce wraps. I made half with pork and half with tofu. I won the prize for best dish and people are begging me to make it again this year!
Loved this recipe. Wouldn’t change a thing. So simple yet so tasty (even better the next day). Vietnamese cuisine is one of my faves.
Cant wait to try this. How would this pack for lunch the next day?? Would you serve it hot over hot rice or room temp over hot rice? Thanks!!
I’d probably serve the pork mixture cold, since you don’t want the vegetables to cook, but you could do the rice either cold or reheated. :)
Another great recipe! I’ve made this twice using ground turkey because ground pork isn’t always available at my supermarket. To take the “bite” out of the red onions, I soak them in ice water with some lime juice for an hour or so. Really mellows the flavor if you’re not so into raw onions.
Great tip about the onions!