Firecracker Asian Salmon: Grilled or Roasted {Freezer Meal}
You’re lucky, my friends. I’m slowly revealing our top Freezer Club recipes to you because I like you (and you’re really nice to read my blog). Tonight, I made an old kid-friendly, heart-healthy stand-by called Firecracker Asian Salmon. This one was always voted as a home run recipe by my Freezer Club because it’s full of flavor!
One word of caution when buying salmon: Be sure to buy WILD salmon, NOT farm-raised salmon. That’s because a study has shown there are 10 times as many PCBs in farmed fish. Dr. Sanjay Gupta in an article here says,
Basically, that’s a reflection of how much pesticides, antibiotics, other contaminants are used in raising these farmed fish. There’s higher pesticide levels in the farmed fish….They actually raise these farmed fish (with large numbers in pens) … You actually have to give them antibiotics. And a lot of the PCBs and toxins are all part of the farming process that are used to try and keep these fish free of disease….sometimes even inject fish like salmon with red dye or pink dye to make them look more pink, more like their wild counterparts.”
Wild Salmon is readily available and affordable in most grocery stores now, from what I’ve seen. I got mine tonight at Aldi for only $3.99!
You can grill or roast this healthy Asian-inspired salmon. Enjoy!
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This is a kid-friendly, heart-healthy stand-by meal that our entire family loves! You’ll love this Asian-inspired salmon recipe. It’s full of flavor!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup peanut oil
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (or sub rice vinegar or red wine vinegar)
- 4 tablespoons green onions, chopped
- 3 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
Instructions
- In a gallon-sized ziptop bag, all ingredients except salmon filets. Zip and shake to combine.
- Add the salmon filets to the marinade, close the bag, and refrigerate for an hour. (Or freeze at this point, if making as a freezer meal.)
- You’ve got two cooking methods to choose from:
- Cooking Method #1:
- Prepare an outdoor grill with coals about 5 inches from the grate, and lightly oil the grate. Grill the fillets 5 inches from coals for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at the thickest part, or until fish just flakes with a fork. Turn over halfway through cooking.
- Cooking Method #2:
- Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes and it’s perfect!
Notes
Freezer Meal Instructions:
To Freeze:
Prepare the marinade in a freezer Ziploc bag. Add the salmon filets, close the bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
To Prepare:
To thaw, run under cold water or set in a sink of cold water. Do not let the fish marinate for very long before cooking it according to the recipe instructions.
I got 2 lbs. of frozen salmon at walmart for $8 once, but I’ve never seen it that cheap again. That must have been 3 years ago at least.
When you bought the Salmon was it frozen or fresh from the store?
Usually frozen. Occasionally the wild salmon comes in season and goes on sale at our meat counter, but I’ve been told it’s been pre-frozen and thawed anyway. I find Wild Salmon very cheap at Aldi and Walmart.
If using olive oil, I would recommend using regular olive oil, not extra virgin. It has a more neutral flavor and higher smoke point than the EVOO.
Absolutely! I do that almost every time I make this since it’s for my Freezer Club. If you want to speed up the thawing, put the freezer ziplock bag the fish is in in warm water or run it under warm water.
Using warm water to defrost meats (especially fish) can lead to keeping the meat at an unsafe temperature for an extended period of time. Cold water will actually defrost faster and keep the food in a safe temperature range.
Thanks, Ryan. You’re right! I’ll make the change in the recipe.
One more quick question. Can I freeze the salmon in the marinade? Then thaw for a few hours before cooking the fish? Thanks again!
I’m wondering if olive oil would work okay or do I really need to buy peanut oil for this recipe? Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I think the peanut oil adds a really nice Asian flavor, but I’m sure you could use olive oil.
Kara, we get ours at Wal-mart. Check the packaging closely, but it should say Wild Alaskan Salmon.
Dev, thanks for the resource!
Hey Rachel! So, you know I love Good Eats, and on a recent episode, Alton talked about getting lots of good Omega-3s, but also about choosing sustainable fish that are good for our health, and good for the ocean's health…there's some great info on the Monterey Bay Aquarium website about suggested seafood choices for different regions of the country, and for people in general. Awesome info: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_health.aspx
And where does one find "wild" salmon vs. farm-raised salmon? PS, we were in Columbia this weekend and stopped at the new HyVee off of Nifong. Have you SEEN the health food section in that store!? Awesome!