Pan-Fried Salmon with Yum Sauce

So, let’s talk about salmon!

Super healthy, full of Omega 3s, easy to find, and probably my favorite fish to cook, since it has so much natural flavor.  However, I find that I get easily bored with plain salmon and am always searching for different ways to cook it.  In this new recipe, I marinated salmon filets in a creamy, Asian-inspired sauce, pan-fried them to perfection and drenched them with even more sauce.  Pan-Fried Salmon with “Yum” Sauce has easily become my favorite salmon recipe and I think you’ll enjoy it, too!

So, why the strange name?  

Well, I really didn’t know what to call my new salmon recipe, since it’s not technically a traditional Thai or Chinese dish.  There are some Asian flavors from the chili garlic sauce and ginger and some Thai inspiration from the coconut milk and lemongrass paste, so it’s sort of a fusion recipe.  For lack of a better name, I decided to call this sauce what is is – “Yum.”  It’s a little sweet, a little savory, a little spicy, and a LOT delicious.

 If you read Monday’s post about my Sweet and Spicy Brussels Sprouts, then you’ll notice that I’m using a few of the same ingredients in this new recipe.  I just love when you buy a specialty ingredient and can actually use it more than once!   I’m all about not letting ingredients go to waste, so hang on to your lemongrass paste and chili garlic sauce and make this Pan-Fried Salmon with Yum Sauce!

Oh, and one thing to note: This recipe serves 6-8 people.  Why would I make so much for just Mark and me?  Two reasons.

• For starters, Mark eats three servings on his own!  So, the “serves 4” recipes are more like “serves 2” in our house! (Not that I mind.  I love a man who can eat. ??)

• The second reason is that I’m a HUGE fan of cook once, eat twice.  I tend to only make 3 or 4 main dish meals throughout the week and I’ll double or triple a recipe so that I don’t have to cook dinner every night.  This seems to not only save me time, but also money, since often, ingredients are cheaper if bought in bulk.

All that said, in the Smith house this recipe will last 2 nights max!  For two “normal” eaters, you might have dinner for 3 to 4 days.  However, this is so good that you just might want to go back for seconds…or thirds.?  Oh, and the best part is, it’s SO easy to make!

For this dish, I used wild-caught salmon filets with the skin on.  I seasoned up my filets, made my sauce and marinated the salmon for a couple hours.  You could do this the night before, the morning of, or even 30 minutes before cooking.  If you can’t do this step in advance, just skip the marinating.  It does add extra flavor to the salmon itself, though, so I like to do it!

To cook the salmon, I pan-fried it in a little coconut oil in a non-stick skillet.  It took about 3-4 minutes per side on medium/high heat.  The salmon gets slightly caramelized from the sweetness in the marinade.  Oh my, YUM.

Once cooked, I topped my salmon with cilantro, green onions, and loads of sauce!  (Mark and I were practically licking every last drop of “Yum Sauce” from our plates!)  I recommend serving it with plain cauliflower rice or even a vegetarian version of my Cauliflower Fried Rice, and some of your favorite stir-fry veggies.  And if you have extra sauce left, like we did, use it as a salad dressing or dipping sauce for chicken!  Enjoy!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Pan-Fried Salmon with Yum Sauce

 

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Created by: Joanna Smith

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

For the Salmon:

• 2 lb wild-caught salmon filets
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

For the Sauce:

• ½ cup nut butter (I used half peanut butter, half almond butter)
• ½ cup coconut aminos (reduce to ¼ cup if you use tamari or soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste
• 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• ½ tsp sea salt

Toppings:

• 4 scallions, sliced
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Combine sauce ingredients in a food processor. Season salmon filets with salt and pepper and place in a dish to marinate. Pour ½ cup of sauce over the salmon and coat each filet well.
2. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. (If you're short on time, don't worry about it. But, there is more flavor if you marinate first!) Refrigerate the extra sauce until ready to use.
3. Using a small saucepan, heat the remainder of the sauce on low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Heat a large non-stick skillet with coconut oil over medium/high heat.
5. Place salmon skin-side down and pan-fry for 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through.
6. Remove cooked salmon and top with extra sauce, scallions, and cilantro.
7. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice alongside your favorite veggies.

Notes

~You can easily cut this recipe in half to serve 4. The sauce recipe makes a lot, so you'll probably still have extra on hand even if you cut this in half.
~If you sub light coconut milk for the full-fat coconut milk your sauce will not be as creamy.
~You could use a number of nut butters in this sauce, but my favorite was the almond and peanut butter combination.
~I imagine you could bake your salmon in the marinade, as well, but I haven't tried it.

3.5.3208