Thai Style Salmon with Lemon Grass

by Laura Donnelly — July 13, 2007

Planning ahead for a festive weekend dinner party is crucial. If your wallet will allow it, treat yourself and your friends to this broiled salmon dish. Serve it with sugar snap peas, blanched ahead of time and dressed with a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce, and some butternut squash with ginger and maple syrup.

Serves 6

6 seven-ounce salmon fillets
1/4 cup canola oil
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 stalk lemon grass, inner core only, minced (should make about 3 to 4 Tablespoons minced)
1 thin red chili pepper, halved, seeded, then minced. Or use 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded
1/4 cup honey

1. Preheat broiler. Place oven rack about 4 inches from heat source. Mix together oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, lemon grass, and chili pepper.

2. Layer a cookie sheet or shallow roasting pan with aluminum foil (to ease clean-up). Lay salmon fillets on foil. Top fillets with marinade/basting sauce.

3. Broil salmon fillets approximate 10 minutes per inch. To tell you the truth, salmon really tastes best when it is medium rare. If this makes you uncomfortable, then cook to well done, which will be when the fish flakes apart. Remember, however, that the fish will continue to cook for a minute or two when taken away from the heat source because the broiler is so hot. When salmon is almost cooked to your liking, drizzle the honey over all and continue to broil for 2 more minutes.

Serve with lime or lemon wedges.