Caramel Salmon

I have to confess that up until now I haven't been a big fan of salmon as I find the flavour a bit too rich, although I do try to cook it from time to time as it's so good for you.  However, following the discovery of this recipe salmon will definitely be making a much more regular appearance in my shopping basket in future.

This is an incredibly simple dish from Bill Granger's book, Every Day, that takes just minutes to cook and you end up with the richest, stickiest sauce with an amazing salty sweet flavour.  There was quite a bit of sauce left over but I couldn't bear to throw it away so ended up mopping it all up with a slice of bread - heavenly!

I've changed the original recipe as it suggested using 800 grams of salmon for four people, or about 2 fillets each, which seemed like way too much to me.  I just used a pack of two fillets from the supermarket for two of us (and halved the other ingredients) and this was just the right amount.

Caramel Salmon
(adapted from Every Day by Bill Granger)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 salmon fillets
1 red onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
115g/4oz soft brown sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lime juice

1) Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat.  Cook the salmon, skin-side down, for 2-3 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon until nicely browned.  Turn it over and cook for a further 1-2 minutes or so until the salmon is cooked but still has a line of translucent, darker pink flesh in its centre,  then remove from the pan.

2) Reduce the heat to medium and a little extra oil to the pan if needed.  Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the soy sauce, sugar and fish sauce.

3) Return the salmon to the pan and cook for 1 minute, or until the sauce is rich, dark and syrupy.  Season with black pepper and lime juice.

4) Serve with rice and green with extra lime wedges on the side.

Serves 4