I have not posted many fish recipes even though fish is on my dinner plate almost 3 times a week. 80% of the time, the weeknight fish dish is easy 10 mins Teochew Style Steamed Fish or Hong Kong Style Steamed Fish recipe. If you are like me who prefer hassle-free cleaning aftermath, then steaming food is one of the best cooking method. Not only that, most Asians kitchen do not have an oven, and I too am bias towards using the stove than the oven.
It was after purchasing my non-stick double-sided pan (as in my Favourite Kitchen Items List), that I started pan frying fish again. One of them is the scrumptious Crispy Salmon. The beauty of this pan is no oil is needed, and covering it up while pan frying food stops the oil from splattering everywhere. While pan frying salmon steak will produce oil/fat from the fish, crispy salmon fillet requires different cooking method – searing the skin side on high heat until crispy and 90% cook through. Then flip over for 15-20 sec kiss to firm up. If you are using an uncoated pan, heat it with high smoke point oil like safflower or grape seed oil (not olive oil).
The crunchy crispy skin on the salmon is the best part of the fillet. The crunch of the skin (crispier than a potato chip) is the perfect contrast to a piece of tender, juicy salmon. But if you are not careful, placing the fillet on a pan that’s not hot enough will get the skin gets solidly fused to the pan and you end up completely separating the meat from the skin as it cooks. That’s what happened to me this time. Oh well, it’s not the end of the world – the skin is crispy and meat perfectly cooked, but it’s not going to impress the guest.
- 2 (about 125g each) skin-on Salmon Fillets - clean & scales removed
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 2 teaspoon grated Ginger
- 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 2 bunch Bok Choy (or Chinese Kai Lan)
- Steamed Brown Rice, to serve
- 1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds - toasted, for garnish
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high heat to almost smoking hot. Pat dry salmon with paper towel and place to the pan, skin-side down, and cook for 4-5 minutes or until crisp. Turn for a quick 15-20 secs sear.
- Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, honey, ginger and half the sesame oil in a small bowl.
- Put a medium pot with 2 inches of water to boil. Place bok choy for 30 seconds and drain.
- Plate salmon and boy choy over rice. Drizzle over ginger and soy sauce and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
- Clean the salmon skin by running your chef’s knife along the skin with a bit of pressure, scraping the scales off
- If you are using an uncoated pan, heat it with high smoke point oil like safflower or grapeseed oil (not olive oil). Use a sturdy, metal turner/spatula that can really get under the fish, not one of those flimsy plastic ones.
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