Enjoy incredible Thai flavour in every bite of miang kham! These easy Thai betel leaf salad bites are the perfect no-cook appetiser your guests can make for themselves.
Why We Love This
Get ready for a flavour explosion in every bite of miang kham! Wrapped in a betel leaf cup (or easy substitute below), each tasty salad bite holds the perfect balance of Thai flavours from a handful of Thai cuisine’s most loved ingredients.
Just like temaki sushi, this easy no-cook recipe is great for entertaining and easy to adapt to everyone’s tastes. Serve the ingredients separately on a platter so your guests can mix and match each time.
What is Miang Kham?
Miang Kham translates to “in one bite”. These tasty little salad bites are best known and loved for the flavour explosion they bring to every mouthful.
Each wrapped salad bite consist of a range of fresh herbs, crunchy peanuts and toasted coconut that are wrapped in a fresh betel leaf. Some regions use a fermented wild tea leaf. They’re truly a delicious experience of aroma, flavour and texture!
The most important part of Miang Kham is the balance of flavour. Each filling ingredient is chosen because it brings one of the key flavours behind the best of simple Thai food recipes: Sweet + Sour + Salty + Creamy + Spicy, with a dash of Bitter from the betel leaf wrap.
While in the past they used to be a delicacy reserved for the royal family, nowadays in Thailand you’ll find these tasty little morsels wrapped up and ready to eat at restaurants and local street food stalls.
They’re traditionally eaten as a healthy snack and usually shared between family and friends, but we love to eat them as an appetiser before tucking into our favourite Thai dishes like Choo Chee Chicken, Pandan Chicken and Crispy Thai Spring Rolls.
What You’ll Need
There are some classic Thai ingredients that make this dish work, and a few special ones you may need to source or substitute:
- Betel Leaves – These are the ‘wrapper’ for your Miang Kham. They have a strong bitter flavour and a texture similar to perilla/shiso leaves, which can be substitutes if you can’t source betel leaf. Ask for Bai Chu Plu leaves at your local Asian grocer, or you can make this recipe with any broad leafy green such as spinach, Chinese broccoli leaves or collard greens.
- Fresh Kaffir Lime – This recipe calls for fresh kaffir lime fruit, which you may be able to find at an Asian grocery depending on where you live. You can substitute this with regular limes – although the flavour is very different, you’ll still get the sour note required to balance the flavour of the dish.
- Dried Shrimp – These thumbnail sized shrimp have been sun dried to make them crispy and full of flavour. You can buy them from Asian grocers or online.
- Peanuts – Look for unsalted roasted peanuts so they don’t overpower the balance of flavour.
- Coconut – Use roasted or toasted coconut flakes with a rich brown colour. Avoid finely ground coconut as this will have a different texture and flavour. Look for it at the supermarket, or toast it yourself in a small flat pan for a few minutes yourself over medium heat.
- Chillies – Also known as ‘birds-eye chillies’ these are small red Thai chillies pack a lot of heat. You might like to be conservative with the amount of chilli you add to each salad bite until you’re used to the spice level. This recipe uses fresh chillies, but you can substitute with dried chillies and soak them for an hour or so before eating.
How to make Miang Kham:
- Take a betel leaf (or shiso, spinach or other flat leaf if substituting) in your hand and wrap up into a cone shape.
- Spoon in a small amount of each ingredient into the cone.
- Top with a drizzle of honey.
- Place the whole cone in your mouth, give it a chew and wait for the flavour explosion!
Wandercook’s Tips
- Balance – Don’t overload your miang kham with too much honey or any one filling ingredient – aim for a delicious balance of flavour and texture.
- Serve as a Platter – We recommend setting up a platter with all the ingredients in separate bowls, so everyone can have a go at making one for themselves. This way, you can also experiment with different flavour combinations for an entirely new taste of Thai cuisine in every bite!
- Ginger – If the flavour of fresh ginger is too strong, you can rinse it a few times under running water to even out the flavour.
FAQs
No, these are a different species of betel leaf – also known as wild betel leaves, as daun kadok in Malay or by the scientific name piper sarmentosum. They’re responsible for the slight bitter note that they bring to each bite.
No, you can substitute with any kind of broad flat leaf. We recommend choosing leaves with a stronger, earthier flavour – such as shiso or beetroot leaves – to match the bitterness of the betel leaf. But you can also use collard greens, spinach, Chinese broccoli leaves or gai lan.
Variations
- Honey – If you’re feeling adventurous, you can substitute the honey with a homemade syrup consisting of palm sugar, salt, fresh ginger and water. Simmer on the stove until the palm sugar has melted and the syrup has reduced.
- For a Vegetarian Version – Omit the dried shrimp and use salted roasted peanuts instead.
Want more Thai recipes? Here are a few of our favourites:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
- 12 betel leaves or large spinach or Chinese broccoli leaves
- 3 tbsp shallots diced
- 3 tbsp ginger diced
- 3 tbsp roasted peanuts unsalted
- 3 tbsp Thai makrut / kaffir lime diced into small cubes with skin on
- 3 tbsp dried shrimp
- 3 tbsp coconut flakes roasted
- 2 chillies birds eye, sliced in thin small rings
For the Sauce
- 5 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Take a betel leaf in your hand and wrap up into a cone shape.12 betel leaves
- Spoon in a small amount of each ingredient (shallots, ginger, roasted peanuts, kaffir lime, dried shrimp, coconut flakes and chillies) into the cone.3 tbsp shallots, 3 tbsp ginger, 3 tbsp roasted peanuts, 3 tbsp Thai makrut / kaffir lime, 3 tbsp dried shrimp, 2 chillies, 3 tbsp coconut flakes
- Top with a drizzle of honey.5 tbsp honey
- Place the whole cone in your mouth, give it a big chew and wait for the flavour explosion!
Recipe Notes
- Betel Leaves – These are the ‘wrapper’ for your Miang Kham. They have a strong bitter flavour and a texture similar to perilla/shiso leaves, which can be substitutes if you can’t source betel leaf. Ask for Bai Chu Plu leaves at your local Asian grocer, or you can make this recipe with any broad leafy green such as spinach, Chinese broccoli leaves or collard greens.
- Fresh Kaffir Lime – This recipe calls for fresh kaffir lime fruit, which you may be able to find at an Asian grocery depending on where you live. You can substitute this with regular limes – although the flavour is very different, you’ll still get the sour note required to balance the flavour of the dish.
- Dried Shrimp – These thumbnail sized shrimp have been sun dried to make them crispy and full of flavour. You can buy them from Asian grocers or online.
- Peanuts – Look for unsalted roasted peanuts so they don’t overpower the balance of flavour.
- Coconut – Use roasted or toasted coconut flakes with a rich brown colour. Avoid finely ground coconut as this will have a different texture and flavour. Look for it at the supermarket, or toast it yourself in a small flat pan for a few minutes yourself over medium heat.
- Chillies – Also known as ‘birds-eye chillies’ these are small red Thai chillies pack a lot of heat. You might like to be conservative with the amount of chilli you add to each salad bite until you’re used to the spice level. This recipe uses fresh chillies, but you can substitute with dried chillies and soak them for an hour or so before eating.
- Ginger – If the flavour of fresh ginger is too strong, you can rinse it a few times under running water to even out the flavour.
- Honey – If you’re feeling adventurous, you can substitute the honey with a homemade syrup consisting of palm sugar, salt, fresh ginger and water. Simmer on the stove until the palm sugar has melted and the syrup has reduced.
- Balance – Don’t overload your miang kham with too much honey or any one filling ingredient – aim for a delicious balance of flavour and texture.
- Serve as a Platter – We recommend setting up a platter with all the ingredients in separate bowls, so everyone can have a go at making one for themselves. This way, you can also experiment with different flavour combinations for an entirely new taste of Thai cuisine in every bite!
- For a Vegetarian Version – Omit the dried shrimp and use salted roasted peanuts instead.
4 Comments
Laura
04/05/2023 at 5:00 amIts delicious, been making it at home for years after having at a Thai restaurant that later closed.
Wandercooks
04/05/2023 at 3:56 pmOh that’s so cool, thanks for letting us know Laura!
Andreas Bauer
09/11/2015 at 5:31 pmGirls, that sounds delicious!
I used to make similar wrappers with chinese cabbage and beef mince seasoned with lime leaves, coriander etc…
I grew up up with tzaziki and flat bread and discovered now the love for everything from Asia and India.
Enjoy!
Andreas
Wandercooks
09/11/2015 at 5:38 pmThat does sound delicious, we’ll have to give it a try one day. 🙂
So many amazing flavours in Asia to explore, let us know how you go if you try this one!