I’m going to throw it out there. I’m an Oklahoma girl and I. love. seafood.
There is a big part of me that longs for a day that I can live near a shoreline and have fresh out of the water, wild-caught seafood at my beck and call. Seriously, until you’ve tried just-caught-30-minutes-ago blackened fish on the Haitian shore – you can’t tell me that seafood is no good.
I also love curry.
And pretty much any other kind of eastern spice/flavor… which is why I combined my love for seafood and eastern cuisine in this delightful salmon recipe.
The sweet heat and tanginess of this dish will make your taste buds dance and sing little songs in your head (or out loud even) with lyrics like ohhh, mmmm, and ahhh. (Thankfully you’ll be at home so you won’t embarrass yourself with any public semi-sexual moaning.)
Since I’m talking about some of my “loves” in life, I also ought to mention that some of my favorite meals are the type that I can do just a bit of prep work in the morning (5-10 minutes max) and then come home and throw the meal together in under 20 minutes – and it still seem like it came from a fancy restaurant. Heck, the crisp sear on this salmon will impress even the greatest food snobs, which, sigh, I must admit even I fall into that category from time to time.
Maybe this love for 30 minutes meals is the Rachel Ray in me. (…though while I am a big fan of olive oil in certain circumstances, you won’t hear me saying E.V.O.O. around here anytime soon!)
So dance and sing along with your tastebuds, because this seared thai curry salmon is one of those 30 minute meals (total, including morning prep).
Get ready to fall in love and still have time to finish that episode of Grey’s Anatomy – er, I mean your laundry. Yes, that’s definitely what I spent the extra time doing… 
This would also be a great romantic meal to surprise your loved one with for Valentine’s day; or to sneak the recipe to your significant other as a “hint.”
P.S. On the nutritional front, you can feel great about this meal because it’s loaded with omega 3s (find out why you need more of these here), vitamins A & C, iron, and if you make my curried sweet potatoes as a side dish – you’ll have a nice kick of betacarotene as well! Also, if you’re having some trouble getting the perfect “sear” beyond my tips below, or just want some general tips on cooking salmon – visit here or here.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste
- 1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Dried Ginger
- 1 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 1 Tbsp Honey
- Sea Salt & Pepper
- 2 Wild-Caught Salmon Filets (about 2/3 of an inch thick)
- Rainbow Chard, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Combine first five ingredients in a medium size bowl.
- Place salmon filets in marinade and coat thoroughly. (You can still leave the skin on at this point. It helps keep your salmon from becoming overcooked and once cooked, the salmon will slide right off the skin as you eat it.)
- Place in your fridge and allow to marinate for at least 3-4 hours. (A great tip is to do these first few steps before you leave in the morning for work/errands/etc, and let the salmon marinate throughout the day. Then you are SET when it comes to dinner time!)
- Remove salmon from bowl and shake any excess marinade off.
- Sprinkle some sea salt and crack some fresh black pepper over the non-skin side of your salmon.
- Heat a bit of coconut oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until the oil begins to smoke.
- Place filets skin side up into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until the underneath has a good sear and the sauce has caramelized a bit. (You're looking for just a nice crisp "crust" around the edges from the sear.)
- Flip salmon onto skin side and let cook until done. (A good rule of thumb is for the center of your salmon to be about 125 degrees. This lends to that soft not-too-flaky, but not-too-rare buttery yumminess that is a good piece of salmon.)
- Stick your salmon on a plate and set in your oven (will help hold the heat in while you cook the chard.)
- Take your coarsely chopped rainbow chard and place in the same skillet along with a few spoonfuls of the leftover marinade and cook until wilted (but with still a bit of crunch around the stalks).
- Serve salmon with a pile of rainbow chard to the side (or you can use it to create a "bed" for the salmon.)
[...] at Honest to Goodness Living has a unique seared salmon recipe with curry. Have to try this [...]