Thai
Yam Takrai (Lemongrass Salad)
A salad of thinly sliced raw lemongrass, grilled prawns or chicken, dried shrimp, toasted coconut, kaffir lime leaf, shallots, mint, and a lime-fish sauce-palm sugar dressing — the only Thai salad where lemongrass is the primary ingredient and the preparation is built around its aromatic rather than around a protein. Yam takrai demonstrates that lemongrass at 1mm paper-thin slices is a fully edible, pleasantly crunchy, intensely aromatic ingredient rather than merely a perfuming element removed before service. The preparation requires confidence in the lemongrass's edibility at this thickness — and sharp enough knife or mandoline to achieve it.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
Three in town · three shipped · two elsewhere in British Columbia.
How the 8 are reached
- In town
- 3 · prawns or chicken, shallots, lime juice
- Shipped to you
- 3 · lemongrass, dried shrimp, palm sugar
- Elsewhere in British Columbia
- 2 · shredded coconut, kaffir lime leaf
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
4–5 stalks
Lemongrass
outer leaves removed; inner 15 cm of white stalk only, sliced on a mandoline or sharp knife at 1 mm across the grain
Origin · ThailandShipped to you · Wismettac →
300 g
Prawns or chicken
shell-on prawns or boneless chicken thigh; briefly grilled with a little fish sauce and oil until lightly caramelised and just cooked
30 g
Dried shrimp
Origin · VietnamShipped to you · Wismettac →
40 g
Shredded coconut
dry-toasted in a pan until deep gold
4 leaves
Kaffir lime leaf
very finely sliced into thin chiffonade
Origin · ThailandElsewhere in British Columbia · SuperValu Gibsons →
3
1 small handful
Fresh mint leaves
left whole or roughly torn
Your own market
For the dressing
2 tbsp
Fish sauce
Your own market
2 tbsp
Lime juice
freshly squeezed
1 tsp
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of the Thompson–Shuswap →Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Toast the shredded coconut in a dry pan over a medium flame, stirring constantly, so that the heat reaches every strand evenly and no patch scorches before the rest has coloured. Remove immediately from the pan onto a cool plate the moment you reach a deep, even gold, since the residual heat of the pan will darken it further if you leave it there. The colour is the cue: pale gold is underdone and lacks the required depth; any darker than deep gold risks bitterness.
2
Strip the outer leaves from each lemongrass stalk until the inner white portion is exposed, then retain only the inner 15 cm of the white stalk and discard the fibrous green upper portion, which is too coarse to eat raw. Using a mandoline set to 1 mm, or a sharp knife held perpendicular to the stalk, slice across the grain in single firm strokes so that the cell walls are thin enough for the citral aroma to release cleanly on the palate and each slice yields without resistance — at 1.5 mm and above, the slice crosses from pleasant crunch into unpleasant fibrous resistance, and the preparation fails. Test a single slice held between the fingers: it should be slightly pliable when bent gently, the citral scent immediately perceptible from that slight pressure, and when eaten alone it must deliver an immediate, intense citral burst with no fibrous resistance whatsoever.
3
Grill the prawns or chicken with a small amount of fish sauce and oil over high heat so the surface caramelises to a light Maillard colour before the interior has time to overcook and tighten. Watch for that colour change at the edges as your signal, then remove the protein as soon as the flesh is barely firm to a gentle press. Protein pulled a moment too late will be dry against the brightness of the dressing and no amount of seasoning will recover it.
4
Combine the sliced lemongrass, dried shrimp, toasted coconut, kaffir lime leaf chiffonade, sliced shallots, and mint in a bowl, then add the grilled protein. Whisk together the fish sauce, lime juice, and dissolved palm sugar separately before adding them, so the sugar is fully integrated and does not pool at the bottom of the bowl. Taste the dressing for the characteristic yam balance: sharp, saline, and faintly sweet in equal measure.
5
Pour the dressing over the salad at the last moment before service and toss once, because the lemongrass will begin to absorb the dressing and soften within five minutes, losing the translucent, slightly pliable crispness that defines the dish. Serve immediately so the slices still carry that texture when they reach the table.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Fresh lemongrass from a specialist Thai grower, stalks heavy and moist with visibly white inner flesh; kaffir lime leaves from the same source, glossy and intensely fragrant. Wild-caught prawns grilled over charcoal.
02
Estate — Lemongrass from a reputable Asian grocer, stalks firm and fragrant; kaffir lime leaves fresh rather than frozen. Good-quality dried shrimp with a clean briny smell and no mustiness.
03
Market — Supermarket lemongrass acceptable if the stalks are firm and the inner flesh pale; frozen kaffir lime leaves; frozen peeled prawns or chicken thigh. Desiccated coconut substituted for shredded where necessary.
04
House — Older or slightly dried lemongrass remains workable provided the 1 mm slice discipline is maintained; the mandoline becomes essential rather than optional when stalk moisture has reduced.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. A single lemongrass slice held between the fingers at 1 mm bends gently without snapping; the citral aroma is perceptible from the slight pressure of holding it alone.
◇Smell. The freshly sliced lemongrass releases an immediate, clean citral scent — bright and citrus-forward — without any musty or fibrous green note.
◇Sight. The slices appear translucent when held to the light; they lie flat and pliable rather than standing stiff or curling.
◇Sight. Toasted coconut reaches deep, even gold across all shreds with no pale patches remaining.
◇Where it lives or dies. The lemongrass must be sliced at exactly 1 mm — paper-thin, slightly pliable, with no fibrous resistance on the palate; any greater thickness renders the primary ingredient inedible and the dish cannot be recovered.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sake
From British Columbia
Beer
Without alcohol
Genmaicha — Yamamotoyama Genmaicha Green Tea with Roasted Rice
Yamamotoyama · Uji
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Tea
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance
The hands behind the plate.
Salmon Arm All-Organic Farmers Market (Wednesday afternoons) · Salmon Arm
Salmon Arm · Prawns or chicken, Shallots, Lime juice
Sechelt Farmers' & Artisans' Market (Sat)
Sechelt · Shredded coconut
SuperValu Gibsons
Gibsons, B.C. V0N 1V7 · Kaffir lime leaf
Wismettac
Vancouver · Lemongrass, Dried shrimp, Palm sugar