Sweet Soy Glazed Salmon

After a weekend filled with carbs & starches (Sat: pasta carbonara & Fri: sweet potato fries & pimento cheese fries at our new favorite restaurant) we decided to go to one of our staples: salmon.  It’s easy to cook; it can be broiled, grilled, baked, pan fried, or steamed, and doesn’t make you want to lay down after eating a bunch of it.  We like Asian flavors and this one packs a double umami punch of soy sauce and hoisin sauce.  The key here is reducing the marinade while the salmon bakes, but not burning the marinade as it reduces.  Also, please please please use low sodium soy sauce as anything with more sodium will be way too salty and surely raise your blood pressure.

A nice cold slaw pairs well with the spice and salt from the salmon.  We used a large beet and a large carrot (both of which were from the farmers market) and we made a refreshing vinaigrette with olive oil, rice wine vinegar, fresh lime juice, and fresh mint.

Sweet Soy Glazed Salmon

Ingredients: 

• Two 6oz salmon fillets
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp hoisin sauce
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you want a little extra heat)

Instructions:

1. Mix together all of the ingredients except for the salmon in a bowl.
2. Place the salmon fillets in a zip-lock bag. Pour the sauce over top and close the bag. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 30-40 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the salmon fillets from the bag and place on baking pan. Bake for ~20 minutes.
4. While salmon is baking, pour the marinade from the bag into a small pan. Bring to a very low simmer on the stove. Reduce until the liquid has thickened. (Do not have the heat too high! The sugar will burn.) This may take 10 minutes or the whole 20 minutes that the salmon is cooking. Just keep a close eye on it.
5. After the salmon has cooked (should flake easily with a fork), brush with the glaze and serve.

Serves 2.