Thai Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon is a simple, yet elegant dish to serve for that special date night in.
Compensation was provided by Gallo Family Vineyards. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Gallo Family Vineyards.
When my husband and I were newly married, we never really went out on dates because a young military couple really can’t afford to. Later on, as my husband made rank we found ourselves not really wanting to go out because we had young children.
You know how it is. A date night involves way more than just heading out to a restaurant and eating together when you are the parents of little kiddos.
A date night out means arranging for a babysitter, making the reservation, cooking a meal for the kids before you go out to eat your own meal because heaven knows the kids aren’t going to pull up step stools and make their own dinner!
Then there is the coordinating schedules, making sure everything is just right before you go…does the babysitter have all of the emergency numbers? Have you ‘disaster-proofed’ the house so that little hands aren’t going to get into things that YOU know to look out for, but the untrained eye of the babysitter may not?
A date night was like planning a detailed military operation! And heaven forbid one of the kids gets sick 30 minutes before you head out the door on your amazing, relaxing, and much needed date night. All that work, effort, and coordination just went right out the window!
No, we never really went out when the kids were young. It was too exhausting!
As time went on and our kids grew up, we found that we now had the opportunity to go out without the circus of the babysitter coordination. But enter in a new dilemma:
Restaurants.
So here we were, the kids were big and self-sufficient and now, after all this time, we finally have the desire to go out on our date dinners. We hear people talking about restaurants and decide to give them a try.
We get dressed up, head on out, and go out on our dinner date. We peruse the menu and pick something that sounds delicious…only to be met with great disappointment.
When you get that bill and are thinking, “I could have made this myself for half this price and it would have been way better” – it kind of leaves you very deflated and, pardon the pun…with a bad taste in your mouth.
For several years, my husband and I repeated that same pattern. Excited date night, home disappointed. We never went to the same restaurant twice because we found them all a big let-down.
Then we moved to Alaska. My husband was just home from another deployment and the two of us decided to go out on a date night. We had been hearing wonderful things about a local restaurant and thought we were way past due on a nice quiet evening together. We made our reservation, got all dolled up, and headed out on our date.
It was amazing! It was literally the first time ever that we left a restaurant and couldn’t wait to go again. The restaurant was quiet and classy – the staff was professional and skilled. My husband had a halibut dish and I had salmon. We went back there several times while we lived in Alaska and each time the experience and the food was outstanding.
While living in Alaska we had the pleasure of eating wild fresh caught foods such as moose & caribou, that we hunted ourselves, and halibut & salmon that we pulled from the water with our own two hands.
When you head out on a fishing trip and come back with 80 pounds of salmon, not only was it a successful trip, but you have plenty to experiment with and try new recipes. Today, I am sharing a salmon recipe that is simple to make, yet decadent enough for a special date at home.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you may find yourself in that situation where you either don’t want to go out to a crowded restaurant, have kiddos of your own and you don’t want to deal with the babysitter circus, or maybe you live in a town where you just haven’t found a nice place to eat yet. Whatever your reasons for staying in, this dish will be a real treat.
So put the kids to bed a little early, put on some nice music, light some candles, pour yourselves a glass of wine, and enjoy this luxurious dinner for two.
To begin, cut the bottom two inches from 6 scallions. Save the green tops for another recipe.
Finely chop the white part of the scallions.
In a skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and toss in the scallions along with 3 cloves of garlic that have been grated. Cook these for just a minute or two over medium low heat, just until you see the slightest bits of golden color beginning to appear.
Turn the heat all the way down to low.
To the skillet add the juice of a lime, 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons each of fish sauce, honey and water, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, and a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger. Whisk these all together and let them simmer for a minute.
Pour the contents of your skillet into a blender or food processor. “Buzz” the mixture until it turns a pale orange color and the red pepper flakes turn into specks.
Pour the marinade into a small shallow dish, such as a square baking pan.
Place two salmon fillets into the marinade, skin side up. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in your fridge to chill for 1-2 hours. This gives you time to clean up the dishes and make sure the kiddos are tucked into bed.
Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the fillets in a cast iron skillet, skin side down. Spoon some of the sauce over the top. Cover the skillet tightly with foil and bake for 11 minutes. Turn on your broiler. Remove the foil from the skillet and place the skillet under the broiler for 2-3 minutes or until the salmon is slightly golden on top.
I served the salmon on a bed of garlicky buttered pasta. While the oven was heating, I started the boiling water.
I cooked 4 ounces of fine spaghetti while the salmon baked. When the pasta was cooked, I drained it and then melted 3 tablespoons of butter in the hot pot that the pasta cooked in. Toss in 2 cloves of grated garlic and let them simmer for just a minute. Sprinkle in a teaspoon of parsley and add the pasta back in. Toss to coat. Arrange some of the pasta on the plate and top with a fillet of your beautiful salmon.
Today, I paired the salmon with White Zinfandel from Gallo Family Vineyards. I used their wine pairing tool to match a wine with a seafood dish that has a little spice to it. It suggested the White Zinfandel, the Moscato, and the Red Moscato. I chose the White Zinfandel for very sophisticated reasons…the pink color prettily matched the color of the salmon and the bubbles in the Zinfandel were festive for the occasion. See? Very scientific!
Two other wines you may be interested in are the Riesling and the Sweet Red.
The Riesling is bright and sweet with hints of honeysuckle, juicy peach, and ripe citrus notes. It pairs well with everything from a barbecue to a pasta for two. It is a very versatile wine and a great choice for your evening.
If a red wine is more to your liking, the Sweet Red has flavors of red fruit, black cherry, and raspberry jam. It is fresh and fruity with a smooth and velvety finish. It goes well with smoked meats or barbecue and, because of its sweetness, you can also pair it with dessert. Not to mention the lovely red color certainly goes well with your Valentine’s Dinner theme!
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Thai Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon
Ingredients
- 2 salmon fillets, about 5 ounces each
- 6 scallions
- 3 Tb coconut oil
- 5 cloves garlic, grated, divided
- 1 Tb red pepper flakes
- 2 Tb honey
- 2 Tb fish sauce
- 2 Tb water
- 1 lime, juiced
- 3 Tb soy sauce, substitute coconut aminos for a paleo version
- 1 Tb fresh grated ginger
- 4 oz thin spaghetti pasta
- 3 Tb butter
- 1 teaspoon parsley
Instructions
- To begin, cut the bottom two inches from 6 scallions. Save the green tops for another recipe.
- Finely chop the white part of the scallions.
- In a skillet, melt the coconut oil and toss in the scallions along with 3 cloves of garlic that have been grated. Cook these for just a minute or two over medium low heat, just until you see the slightest bits of golden color beginning to appear.
- Turn the heat all the way down to low.
- To the skillet add the juice of the lime, red pepper flakes, fish sauce, honey, water, soy sauce, and the fresh grated ginger. Whisk these all together and let them simmer for a minute.
- Pour the contents of your skillet into a blender or food processor. “Buzz” the mixture until it turns a pale orange color and the red pepper flakes turn into specks.
- Pour the marinade into a small shallow dish, such as a square baking pan.
- Place two salmon fillets into the marinade, skin side up. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in your fridge to chill for 1-2 hours. This gives you time to clean up the dishes and make sure the kiddos are tucked into bed.
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the fillets in a cast iron skillet, skin side down. Spoon some of the sauce over the top. Cover the skillet tightly with foil and bake for 11 minutes. Turn on your broiler. Remove the foil from the skillet and place the skillet under the broiler for 2-3 minutes or until the salmon is slightly golden on top.
- Serve the salmon on a bed of garlicky buttered pasta. While the oven is heating, start the boiling water.
- Cook the fine spaghetti while the salmon bakes. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and then melted the butter in the hot pot that the pasta cooked in. Toss in the 2 cloves of grated garlic and let them simmer for just a minute. Sprinkle in the parsley and add the pasta back in. Toss to coat.
- Arrange some of the pasta on the plate and top with a fillet of your beautiful salmon.
Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Looks delicious, but I am a bit concerned about the amount of sodium – more than for a whole day. I LOVED the story of your early years. I’m always intrested in how it was for other young couples.
The nutritional information that is supplied by the tool that creates my recipes cards, is not accurate. I input the recipe, but that is auto-generated, and completely untrustworthy. (Thus the disclaimer.)
When it comes to salmon, I can’t just buy enough for a date night for two. My kids would demand their share of this delicious dish!
The color of this meal is perfect for the holiday. Not to mention that it sounds delicious – my husband would love it!
P.S. – I’d love to be stationed in Alaska for a few years!!
I know exactly what you mean about not going out for the longest time when the kids were little. Love this recipe and I bet it is better than going out to eat.
I love the back story to this dish!
I am in love with that sauce…this looks so tasty!!
This is my kind of recipe. I’m going to have to try this. The flavor sounds amazing.
I’ve visited Alaska twice and really loved it. Your life there sounds like it was a fantastic life experience. I’ve always loved moving around the country for my work to really get to know different areas, and Alaska would be on my short list. And this dish is perfect for me – where I wimp out on being vegetarian is ordering fish in restaurants. I’ll never give that up, although I don’t cook it very often now. But I really want to make this dish this week. It’s perfect!
Wow! This is one great salmon dish! I love the sweet chili glaze! Yum!
Thank you Constance and have a great Sunday.
I LOVE Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. I seriously cannot get enough of it. I can’t wait to give this a try – yummmm!
Bring on the Thai flavors!!! This is truly a special meal.
I would LOVE this salmon for Valentine’s Day! It’s one fish that the hubby will actually eat—and your glaze sounds fantastic!