Pan-Seared Salmon with Sweet Chili Lemon Sauce
In less than 30-minutes you can be eating a deliciously healthy meal of pan-seared salmon, full of omega-3, protein and cardiovasular benefits.
If salmon weren’t so expensive I would definitely cook it on a more regular basis. I found some Atlantic salmon for a decent price at the local Metro, so for $4.60 ($19.32/kg) I picked up a decent sized portion for tonight’s dinner.
After all the cooking shows I’ve watched, if there’s one thing I’m learned is that less is more when it comes to seasoning salmon. No real need to marinate it or drench it in loads of spices. The flavours from this delectable fish comes through with some simple salt and pepper.
To start you want to make sure that you’re salmon is rinsed and patted dry with some paper towels. I emphasize this because if there’s any moisture on the fish then your salmon won’t get a good sear and might stick to the pan.
Make sure your frying pan is pre-heated to medium-high heat. I used a cast-iron pan for this, so it helped a lot for preventing my salmon from getting stuck to it
Brush both sides of your salmon fillets with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper (I used Himalayan pink salt). Then place your fillet (skin-side down) onto the hot pan. If the pan is hot enough and you oiled your salmon properly, the skin should crisp up nicely. Depending on the thickness of your fillet (mine was a little over 1/2-inch) you’ll want to sear it for at least 5 minutes.
Be careful not to overcook it. This could take some practice, but you want to have the middle of your salmon a little bit pink and soft (it will continue cooking when you remove it from the pan to let it rest before serving). Use a long spatula and flip the salmon to cook the opposite side for just under a minute.
The sweet chili-lemon sauce was so simple to make. I didn’t have any fish sauce, so I used some soy sauce in it’s place. I found it balanced out nicely with the sweet honey, sour lemon and spicy chili flakes. The butter brought everything together.
I served it over a bed of whole-grain couscous that I boiled in vegetable stock for extra flavour, and a side of steamed broccoli. This entire meal took less than 30 minutes to make and was absolutely delicious. If you go easy on the sauce it’s a super-healthy meal that comes in at just under 500 calories.
Monique Creary
Yields 2
In less than 30-minutes you can be eating a deliciously healthy meal of pan-seared salmon, full of omega-3, protein and cardiovasular benefits.
5 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
20 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
2 fillets Atlantic salmon (about 250g each)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Directions
- Pre-heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Rinse salmon fillets and pat dry with paper towels.
- Brush both sides of the fillets with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Place fillets, skin-side down, into the pan and sear for approximately 5-6 minutes.
- Using a spatula, flip the salmon over to cook the other side for another minute.
- Remove from pan and let rest for several minutes before serving.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
- Whisk in honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and chili flakes.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes before serving over salmon.
Notes
This salmon goes great on a bed of couscous or long-grain rice, and served with steamed greens such as broccoli.