Sweet & Spicy Thai Inspired Maple Glazed Salmon

While I've had the luxury to indulge in all kinds of leisurely cooking for the past couple of years, I realize that that will likely come to a temporary moratorium once the Pod hatches. And also that lots of peeps here already have very compelling reasons to find quicker and easier recipes than some of the recipes I post.

And when it comes to proteins, nothing says quick and easy like seafood or chicken breast. And while I'm not a huge fan of chicken breast, I could eat proteins from the water all day.

So when The Man asked me to make something Asian inspired, sweet, and spicy, and with a kick for dinner last night, I came up with this salmon recipe to serve with some jasmine rice and slaw with which I am REALLY pleased. 

And the entree itself only takes 20 minutes.

SWEET & SPICY THAI INSPIRED MAPLE GLAZED SALMON
Serves 3 to 4

- a roughly 1.5 pound salmon fillet
- salt & pepper to season
- 1 Tablespoon oil for searing salmon

- 1 large clove garlic, minced (just under a Tablespoon)
- 2 Tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced
- 5 to 7 stems cilantro, chopped (stems and leaves)
- 1/2 a jalapeno, thinly sliced (or if you like hotter chilies, you can certainly use another kind)
- 1 Tablespoon oil for the glaze
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic paste (I use Huy Fong.)
- the zest of half a lime
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1.5 teaspoons fish sauce

1) Preheat the oven to 400F and prepare an oven safe dish or baking sheet in which to bake the salmon. I like to line the dish or sheet with foil for easy cleanup.

2) Season the salmon filllet lightly on both sides with salt and pepper.

3) In a bowl, combine the garlic, shallots, cilantro, jalapeño, and oil, and toss to thoroughly coat. The reason I do it in this order instead of just stirring all the glaze ingredients together is that coating the aromatics with the oil first gives them a toastier, more caramelized flavor when they're cooking in the oven on top of the fish.

4) Add the rest of the glaze ingredients together and stir to mix thoroughly.

5) In a non-stick pan, bring the cooking oil up to medium high temp, and sear the salmon fillet for 2 minutes per side.

6) Transfer the salmon to your oven-safe dish, pour the glaze evenly on top, as well as any remaining cooking oil from the pan.

7) Bake the salmon on the center rack for 6 minutes, then turn the oven onto broil and place the salmon so that the top of the salmon is about 5 inches away from the broiler heating element, and broil for another 4 to 5 minutes.

That's it!

Serve with steamed rice and slaw like we did, or atop a bed of salad greens dressed with some of the glaze and a squeeze of fresh lime, and it's a quick 30 Minutes (or fewer) meal!

Our slaw from last night: green cabbage,
white onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and red
bell pepper, tossed with some dressed up
nuoc cham, extra lime juice and zest, & oil.

P.S. I think this is probably a pretty good recipe to convert salmon haters. :)))


Here's another: "Miso" Salmon.

shinae