Soy Ginger Salmon

With only one salmon filet, I wanted a quick and easy recipe for lunch.  I found one on WellPlated.com.

Soy Ginger Salmon

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon garlic-chili paste

1 pound skin-on salmon fillet, at room temperature, cut into 3-4 portions

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

chopped green onions

toasted sesame seeds

I started by preheating the oven to 425-degrees.  I put the cast iron pan on a burner set to high.  A screaming hot pan will keep the salmon from sticking.

Because I only had one salmon fillet, I cut the recipe in half.  I made a few substitutions for ingredients I did not have on hand.  I used apple cider vinegar in place of the rice vinegar, a pinch of ground ginger in place of the fresh, and a sriracha chili sauce in place of the chili paste. 

I stirred together the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan.  I brought the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, then took it off of the heat and added the honey and sriracha chili sauce.  I set a few spoonfuls of the glaze aside.

I salted the salmon and drizzled it with olive oil, brushing it for an even coating.  I put the salmon, skin side up on the hot cast iron and let it cook for three minutes undisturbed, allowing it to form a crust.  When the salmon started to turn opaque on top, I flipped it with a fish spatula and removed it from the heat.  I brushed the rest of the glaze in the saucepan over the top of the salmon.

The recipe calls for the salmon to cook in the oven for six minutes, followed by four or five minutes of resting under foil.

Apparently my pan was entirely too hot.  The kitchen quickly filled with smoke, which caused Chris to come running, thinking I was about to burn the house down.  I was very disappointed when I flipped the fish to see that my crust was very dark and slightly burned, but happy that it did not stick to the pan.  Chris suggested that I skip the oven so as not to overcook the fish.

I served the salmon over wild rice (Chris cooked a big batch yesterday) and topped it off with the extra sauce.  I also added avocado to the plate.  The salmon was beautifully cooked (other than a very faint burnt flavor) and the sauce was delicious.  I do think I will skip salting the salmon the next time as the sauce has enough saltiness for the dish.  The avocado nicely counteracted the slight saltiness.

The recipe suggests topping the salmon with chopped green onion and sesame seeds but since I was using the avocado, I decided to skip that part.

From start to finish, this recipe only took about 15 minutes to prepare.