KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Thailand is a universe in itself. Once you’ve been there, you’d be hard-pressed to forget the sounds, smells and above all flavours of Thailand.

Rising above the hum of the unceasing traffic is the fragrance and music of a street hawker frying something tasty in a well-seasoned wok.

Some of these dishes, such as pad Thai (stir-fried rice noodles with fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, ground peanuts, egg, meat, and, bean sprouts), tom yum (a spicy and sour soup made with meat, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and dried chillies), and khao niao mamuang (slices of ripe mango and sticky rice cooked in thick coconut milk), are considered standards of Thai cuisine.

But not every Thai dish is lip-searing spicy or rich with coconut milk. One of the most refreshing Thai treats I have had was a mangosteen salad with pan-seared scallops that was surprisingly refreshing without skimping on any of the intense flavours.

I remember the first time my partner and I tasted this salad was in Bangkok. What an unusual dish! It had seedless mangosteen segments, which seemed a luxury, as these must have been selected by hand. The tang of the fish sauce was present but not too overpowering, as it was cut by fresh lime juice and mint leaves.

Back in Malaysia, most of the usual Thai fare we came across remained reliable if overly familiar staples. Pad Thai, massaman curry, mango sticky rice: same old, same old. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. So on a sticky, sweltering afternoon, we decided to try our own version of the mangosteen salad.

Apart from mangosteen, we also use pomelo to offer a slightly bittersweet, citrusy flavour. Instead of scallops, some prawns that are lightly boiled make it a lighter, less decadent affair. Some heat from cili padi or bird’s eye chilli is a must, but not too much. We are trying to cool down, after all!

Perhaps the most indispensable ingredient is the fish sauce. This ubiquitous Thai condiment and ingredient imparts such a specific hit of umami that even ready substitutes such as soy sauce or Maggi seasoning don’t really work as well. Fish sauce is in a class of its own.

If you are worried that the cili padi may render the salad too spicy, have no fear; it is really only a little heat. Of course, the best way to fight fire is with fire (or so we think), so a spicy summer punch may be the perfect accompaniment. The “spice” in this citrus-based (non-alcoholic) punch comes from the use of ginger, which certainly livens things up.

Thaan aa-haan hai a-rawy na! (“Enjoy your meal!” in Thai.)   Thai mangosteen, pomelo & mint salad and Spicy summer punch Hunting down seedless mangosteen segments may seem tedious but is really fun once you realise you can pop the ones with seeds into your mouth as you go along. A tad sticky, perhaps, but surely more enjoyable than most food preparation tasks! Ingredients

Tender segments of mangosteens (left). Juicy, tart and slightly bittersweet, pomelo has plenty of vitamins (right)

For the Thai salad: 12 small prawns, boiled and shelled 6 mangosteens, only the seedless segments Half a pomelo, segments broken into bite-sized pieces A small bunch of mint, leaves only

Mint leaves are the perfect ingredient to freshen up a dish (left). Chopped cili padi (bird’s eye chilli) and diced lemongrass (right)

For the salad dressing: Half stalk of lemongrass, diced 3 bird’s eye chilli (cili padi), chopped Juice of 2 limes 1 tablespoon of fish sauce 1 teaspoon of sesame oil White pepper powder and sugar to taste For the summer punch: Juice of 1 grapefruit Juice of 3 oranges 1 medium-sized piece of ginger, mashed for its juice Mint leaves to garnish Method