This beautiful Asian salmon recipe is easy and so yummy, plus healthy and wonderful with either rice or potatoes. It's the marinade that makes this dish, a concoction of Asian sauces with honey and ginger, plus fresh garlic for a superb salmon dish that tastes similar to teriyaki. It's inspired by the Chinese-Thai tradition, and has the advantage of being very simple to put together. I like to bake it for tender, very flavorful results. This is one of my personal go-to recipes when I want delicious-tasting salmon without too much fuss and bother. Great with rice, but also lovely with new potatoes. Enjoy!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: SERVES 2-3
Ingredients:
- 2-3 salmon fillets or steaks
- 4 Tbsp. hoisin sauce (I used Lee Kum Kee Hoisin Sauce)
- 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp.fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 Tbsp. liquid honey
- 1/2 to 1 tsp. chili flakes, to taste (for sensitive stomachs, reduce to a pinch)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. grated galangal OR ginger
- 2-3 green onions, finely sliced or chopped
Preparation:
- Briefly rinse salmon fillets or steaks under cool water. Shake off excess or pat dry and place pieces in a flat-bottomed baking dish (you will need a lid or foil to cover it).
- In a separate bowl or container, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, and chili flakes. Stir well to dissolve the honey. Add the ginger, garlic, and white parts of the green onion (save the green parts for serving).
- Taste-test this mixture for spice, adding more chili if desired. If you'd like it sweeter, add 1/2 Tbsp. more honey; if too sweet for your taste, add a little more lime juice.
- Pour over the salmon, turning pieces in the sauce to saturate. Cover and allow to marinate in your refrigerator at least 30 minutes or longer. When getting close to your desired cooking time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes, or until sauce is lightly bubbling and salmon has firmed up (inner flesh turns from translucent to opaque when nicely cooked). If undercooked, cover and return salmon to oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and taste-test the sauce, looking for the following flavors: sweet followed by sour, then spicy-salty. If too sweet or too salty for your taste, add 1-2 more Tbsp. lime or lemon juice. If not sweet enough, add a little more honey. More chili can also be added. Stir well after each addition.
- Serve salmon with some of the sauce spooned over each piece, topping with a sprinkling of reserved green onion. I like to serve this dish at the table so we can each spoon up as much sauce as we like (it's delicious over rice or even potatoes!). ENJOY.
