Honey Garlic Salmon Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Lime

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Sweet honey, salty soy, tangy lime and a kick of chilli – a delicious sticky moreish sauce coating skinned fillets of sweet salmon. Serve with rice or noodles to absorb all these delightful flavours and dress up with spring onions and sesame seeds; you have a spectacular tasting and looking dish in no time at all.

The sauce is fuss-free, you can whip it up in less than 5 minutes and it uses ingredients you will more than likely always keep in stock. On the table in less than half an hour, this dish is quick enough to make after work, whilst also being splendid enough to impress guests. Loved by everybody in this house (with zero adaptation or change – a minor miracle for us!), it is quite possibly the dish I make most frequently for a family meal.

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I prefer to use skinned salmon for this dish – if serving over rice and noodles it is easier not to have to remove the skin as you eat, particularly if using chopsticks. However, full disclosure, the salmon can flake a little when cooking; it will still taste amazing but just not look quite so neat. Look at the photographs and you will see that the fillets are not perfect and have broken up a bit whilst cooking.

Should you have any leftovers, please see my wonderful onigiri dish called Onigiri with Honey Garlic Salmon and Toasted Seaweed. These are so good you may even want to cook a little extra so you can make these for lunch the following day.

How to make Honey Garlic Salmon Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Lime

Collect all your ingredients together:

• runny honey
• soy sauce (I use Kikkoman reduced salt)
• lime juice (or lemon)
• roasted sesame oil
• garlic powder 
• chilli flakes
• 4 x salmon fillets
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

How to make Honey Garlic Salmon Fillets with Soy, Chilli and Lime:

First, make your sauce and, if necessary, remove the salmon skin. To do this:

• place the salmon, top side down on a chopping board
• using a very sharp knife, make a small incision (around 2.5cms/1 inch long) between the skin and the salmon flesh
• turn the fish over so it is skin side down
• hold on to the skin with one hand and take the knife with the other
• continue the incision, sliding the knife between the skin and the flesh whilst firmly holding the skin to create some tension and making it easier to cut
• cut as close to the skin as possible and always cut away from your body
• please see the photographs below for guidance.

If serving with rice, this is a good time to put your rice on to cook. The sauce is quick, easy and all made in one jam jar or bowl. Measure all the ingredients into a jam jar, screw on the lid firmly and shake well. Alternatively, measure into a small bowl and mix with a balloon whisk. All done and ready to cook.

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To cook the salmon, heat some oil in a frying pan large enough for the fillets, over a medium hot temperature. When hot, add the salmon top side down and cook for around 3 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned. Very carefully turn the fillets and continue to cook for a further 3 minutes or until nearly cooked to your liking. Salmon is an oily fish and extra oil will collect in the pan. To remove this, use your kitchen tongs and some kitchen roll and dab the oil in the pan to remove. (See the extra oil in picture 9 and dabbing it up with kitchen roll in picture 10.)

Add all the basting sauce and bring to the boil. Cook on high for 2 minutes to thicken the sauce, basting the salmon as you cook. Serve the salmon on the rice or noodles, drizzled with the sauce and garnished with sliced spring onions, chopped coriander and some sesame seeds. Serve salad or green vegetables on the side.

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