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!
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:
Print
PinDescription
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 (sub: avocado oil)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (sub: rice vinegar or red wine vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 cup green onions, chopped (green and white parts)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (sub: honey)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (cut back if you don’t like heat)
- 8 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
Instructions
Make It Now:
- In a gallon-sized freezer bag, add all ingredients except the salmon filets. Zip and shake to combine. (Freezer instructions begin here.)
- Add the salmon filets to the marinade, close the bag, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- You’ve got two cooking methods to choose from:
- Cooking Method #1: Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Place the filets skin-side down on the grill and cook until golden brown and slightly charred, 4-5 minutes (when fillets are seared on the first side, they should release easily). Flip the fillets over and continue grilling until done, 2-3 minutes. When salmon is done, it should flake easily with a fork.
- Cooking Method #2: Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 15-20 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork.
Freeze For Later: Follow Step 1, seal, and freeze. Tightly wrap and freeze the salmon alongside the marinade to create a meal kit.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw the meal. Add the salmon to the marinade and follow Steps 2-3.
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!