Salmon is a favourite in our house, its so versatile, can be cooked in many different ways and my son absolutely devours it. This recipe is one of his favourites, the skin on the salmon goes super crispy so that is crackles when you eat it and the salmon is cooked perfectly with a slight opaqueness still in the centre.
Salmon is quite an oily/fatty fish so we eat it with a super healthy, fresh, raw and fragrant salad that has delicious Vietnamese flavours from the herbs and the dressing. This helps balance out the fattiness of the salmon perfectly and provides a delicious freshness to the meal.
The dressing that we use is actually a Vietnamese dipping sauce called Nuoc Cham, it is a salty, tangy, sweet and spicey combination of lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and other aromatics that are really refreshing. If you are feeding little ones you may want to omit the chilli in this dressing and instead provide some chopped chilli on the side for any adults that might want it.
The main ingredients of the salad are bok choy, cabbage, carrot, sugar snaps, mint and coriander, however as always these can be flexible and you can play around with different vegetables you have on hand. Swiss chard, kale, green cabbage, cos lettuce, snow peas, mange tout, beansprouts, capsicum and pickled radish would all go really well in this salad.
The salad would also be great with other grilled meats such as steak, chicken, prawns or even grilled tempeh. It is also a really good salad to take to a BBQ when you are a bit sick of boring old garden salad.
This is a really delicious, easy, quick and healthy meal that you will make over and over again. Its on the table in under 20 minutes so is perfect for a quick mid week meal when you don’t have a lot of time for prep. The flavours are delicious and the whole family with enjoy it and its really good for you! So what’s not to love? Dig in!
Crispy Skin Salmon with Crunchy Asian Salad
Equipment
- 1 Frying Pan Large
- 1 Salad Bowl
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Chopping Board
- 1 sharp knife
Ingredients
Nuoc Cham (Salad Dressing)
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 Garlic clove minced
- 1 tsp Ginger minced
- 1 Shallot minced
- 1 Birds eye chilli finley chopped
- 2 tbsp Fish sauce
- 2 tbsp Lime juice
- 6 tbsp Water
Crunch Asian Salad
- 2 Bok choy Light green parts sliced, leaves whole
- 2 cups Purple cabbage Shredded
- 2 Carrots Shredded
- ½ cup Mint leaves
- 1 cup Sugar snap peas
- 1 cup Coriander leaves
- 2 tbs Shallots/ Spring onions finely sliced
- 1 tbsp Fried noodles optional
- 1 tbsp Fried shallot optional
Crispy Skin Salmon
- 4 Salmon fillets skin on, about 150 grams each
- 2 tbs Olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
Instructions
Nuoc Cham (salad dressing)
- Add sugar, garlic, ginger, shallot, chilli, fish sauce, lime juice and water to a bowl or a jar and stir to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Crunch Asian Salad
- For the bok choy slice the lighter green part and leave the darker green part of the leaves whole then add them to a large salad bowl.
- Shred cabbage and carrot and add to the bowl.
- Pick mint leaves and add to the bowl.
- De-string sugar snaps peas then add them, along with coriander and shallots.
- Toss salad so all the beautiful colours are mixed together.
- Don't add your fried noodles or shallots until just before you serve the salad, otherwise they will go soggy.
- Dress you salad just before serving.
Crispy Skin Salmon
- Debone your salmon first. Put salmon fillets skin side down on a chopping board or plate and run your finger over the flesh of the fillet, you will be able to feel where the bones are (bones tend to be in the thickest part of the fillet), use a pair of kitchen tweezers to pull the bones out.
- Once deboned use 1 tablespoon of oil to coat all four of the salmon fillets and then season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan to medium high heat.
- Once oil is hot add the salmon fillets to the pan skin side down (there will be some spluttering so be careful). Use a spatula to hold fillets down for a few seconds so they don't rise up as the skin shrinks.
- Cook fillets on skin side for 4 minutes, then turn over and cook on the other side for two minutes.
Serve
- Add salad to each plate and drizzle with dressing, then add your salmon to the side (skin side up) with some fresh lime or lemon on the side and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
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