Honey Soy Walnut Salmon

Had I known that this would be so delicious, I would have taken pictures along the way.  We had been out shopping all afternoon and came home to a piece of thawed salmon, not much else, and a big appetite.  I found some soy/honey sauce in the fridge from Christmas Eve, a jar of tamarind paste that son-in-law David left behind when he moved to Germany, and of course my one kilo container of chopped garlic that Paul purchased for me.

We agreed the meal was blogworthy and Paul agreed to contribute his “secret awesome” salmon sauce. I also think my nephew, JL,  could use this recipe in his iron chef competition.



I had frozen pieces of salmon during the unforgettable salmon run in the summer of 2010 when  salmon was readily available for 2 bucks a pound. I used an 8 inch piece of salmon for this recipe.  I sliced it down the centre to butterfly it and cooked it skin down with a lid on.

Lamb and pork can also be “butterflied”.  Essentially it just means to cut down the centre and spread open and flat.

Paul had left some walnuts on the counter from making muesli - so I thought those would blend in nicely.

Ingredients:

Green onions
Salmon
Soya sauce
Tamarind paste
Honey
Walnuts
Olive oil, thyme, bay leaf, garlic

The sauce:

Start with an onion.  A green onion. 

Make a 50/50 mixture of honey and soya sauce.   Start with 1/3 cup of each. Cook on the stovetop or microwave to melt the honey and blend the ingredients.  (You could also add paprika or chili powder to give it a little kick.)

Chop thinly, 5 green onions.  Fry in a saucepan with a tsp of minced garlic in olive oil until wilted.  Add 1/2 cup of walnuts and continue frying until the walnuts are nicely browned.  You have to watch the walnuts and keep turning them so they don’t burn.

Scoop the walnuts out of the saucepan and set aside in a small bowl.  It’s ok if some of the onions come along for the ride.

Add the honey/soy mixture and a heaping tbsp of tamarind paste to the remaining onions in the saucepan.  Stir thoroughly and bring to a boil, scraping edges with a spatula.  Turn off heat.

The salmon:

Meanwhile, poach the salmon, skin-side down,  in about 1/2 an inch of water with a tbsp of lemon, 2 bay leaves and 1/2 a tsp of thyme.  Cover.  Bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and cook for about 5 minutes or to desired done-ness. Careful not to overcook. 

Check the fish for doneness by separating its flakes with a fork. If it separates easily, it is done.  If it’s still raw looking and won’t flake off, cook it a bit more. 

For a picture of how it should look, you can look here.

When the salmon is cooked, remove the skin, the bones and scrape off any grey unsightly bits with a knife. 

Serve:

Arrange the salmon on a deep plate.   Pour the honey/soy sauce over the top and sprinkle with the reserved walnuts.

We served it with pasta and vegetables. Here's what was left by the time we decided to take pictures for the blog: