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Asian Inspired Salmon

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Ingredients

Scale

4 salmon fillets, 4 to 6 ounces each, skin on.

23 garlic cloves, minced

11/2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

Seeds scraped from 1/2 of a Vanilla Bean (can substitute1 teaspoon Rain’s Choice pure Vanilla Extract or 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Paste)

4 tablespoons light honey or maple syrup

3 tablespoons lemon juice (or to taste)

4 tablespoons tamari sauce or low-sodium tamari sauce (can substitute soy sauce)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon neutral oil such as grapeseed or avocado oil

Broth as needed

Topping

1 tablespoon lightly dry-toasted sesame seeds

2 scallions, sliced very thin

Instructions

Place fresh salmon fillets in baking dish.

In a small bowl add garlic, ginger, vanilla bean seeds, honey or maple syrup, lemon juice, tamari sauce and oil and whisk together. Spoon over salmon, cover dish with foil or plastic wrap, and allow to marinate up to 2 hours, basting a few times.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove foil or wrap and place salmon in the lower third of the oven and bake just until salmon is almost done, about 8 – 15 minutes depending on thickness of the fillets. It should look a little raw in the middle, but it will continue to cook when you remove it from the heat. The most important thing is that you don’t overcook it.

Remove the fillets to a platter. Scrape last of the sauce from the baking dish into a small saucepan and add 2 – 4 tablespoons of broth (or water). Add the used half of the vanilla pod for more flavor or save it for another purpose (like your sugar jar). Place pan over medium high heat and reduce the sauce by about half or just until it begins to thicken. Taste then add more tamari, lemon juice or a dash of toasted sesame oil until flavors are balanced. Spoon over salmon fillets, then add sliced onions and sesame seeds.

Notes

If you want to flash saute spinach to serve with the salmon, you will need about 1 pound of spinach or 2 packages of baby spinach leaves. Put 2 teaspoons neutral oil and 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil in a large skillet. Heat until oil is hot, then toss in spinach, turning it with tongs until it is all coated. Add a little tamari and a spoon of water or broth, cover for a couple of minutes, then check to make sure that the spinach has fully wilted. Place on platter and plate salmon on top, then follow the instructions above.