honey ginger salmon

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped fine
• 1/4 soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 minced serrano chili pepper
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 8-oz salmon steaks (about 1″ thick)

The original recipe calls for a 1/4 of hoisin and 1 tbsp chopped canned chiptles. I didn’t have these on hand so I used soy sauce to get the asian flavor and a serrano chili for spice.  In retrospect, the hoisin might have been too sweet so I think it worked out well with the soy sauce.

A note about the chilies… I like food moderately spicy so I generally halve chilies and remove seeds from only one half.  Leave all the seeds if you like it really spicy, or remove all the seeds if you prefer milder spice.

Preparation

Preheat the broiler.

Mix honey, cilantro, soy sauce, ginger, chilies, and brown sugar in a bowl.  (Taste the sauce to make sure it’s too your liking.  I always do!)

Brush both sides of the salmon steaks with olive oil and arrange on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Next, generously brush salmon steaks with the honey-ginger sauce (Reserve some sauce for basting).  The sauce is going to caramelize in the oven and turn into a delicious glaze! Make sure you get little bits of chili, cilantro and ginger all over the salmon.  I find that using a spoon is easier than an actual brush.  Broil the salmon until opaque in the center, about 4 minutes per side, making sure to baste with reserved sauce occasionally.

The Sides