Thai Salmon

When I was a young cookbook editor, 22, 23 years old, two of the first books I were given to work on were written by a Thai chef named Vatcharin Bhumichitr (try saying that three time fast….try even saying that once!). They had been published in England, and I was tasked with making them friendly for an American audience.

Mostly I changed the word aubergine to eggplant, courgette to zucchini.  But it didn’t take long for me to fall head over galangal in love with the flavors and dishes of Thai cooking. The brightest tastes, the smart blending of salty and sour and sweet and spicy, the light hand with number of ingredients in most of the recipes. I was smitten. I cooked my way through his books, and to this day most of what I know about Thai cooking comes from this expert man’s teachings.

This is just a simple combo of classic Thai ingredients, poured over some salmon filets. The marinade turns into a beautiful glaze. It’s one of those dishes (like most Thai dishes in my opinion, that you Just. Can’t. Stop. Eating. But when you’re done, when the salmon is all gone (and it will be, all gone), you feel full but not stuffed, and very satisfied without being saggy.

You can marinate the salmon for up to 2 hours, but longer than that might alter the texture of the fish, making it a bit soft.

Serve this over piles of rice, or quinoa.  Below it’s served with an herby brown rice and some simply sautéed fennel, onions, and baby zucchini.

I also once served it with a great Thai cucumber salad for a few friends (who: 1] were pescatarians, 2] did not eat shellfish, and 3] were gluten-free) and they were very generous with their praise.