Ginger Garlic Salmon with Cabbage Salad

My, oh my, I have a lot of fab recipes to share with you right now, but this one got pushed straight to the front of the line. You just need to know about it right now, okay? Trust me. Our butcher shop gets fresh salmon in every Thursday and consequently, many Thursdays nights in our house are salmon nights. Andrew’s favorite dinner of all is this pank0-crusted salmon and we make it all.the.time, but last week I was in the mood for something different.

I definitely got the side eye the moment he realized I wasn’t making the old standby, but this was every bit as well received if not more so. For the part of the adults, this was one of those meals where there was little dinner conversation beyond, “Wow, this is just so good,” after every other bite. The cabbage salad is so fresh, lightly dressed with a soy-ginger dressing. The cool crisp bite of the salad is a perfect complement to the warm, tender salmon. I already can’t wait to have this meal again.

Yield about 4 servings

Ingredients

For the dressing:
Juice of ½ a lime
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp. honey (or brown sugar)
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the salad:
1 small-medium head green cabbage, thinly sliced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 handfuls baby spinach leaves (about 1½-2 cups), roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated/shredded

For the salmon:
1½ lbs. boneless salmon fillets
Juice of ½ a lime
2 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 inch knob of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
Sriracha, to taste
Coarse salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

01
Heat a grill to medium-high, or preheat the oven to 450˚ F. To make the dressing, combine the lime juice, oils, soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic, jalapeño, and cilantro in a liquid measuring cup or jar. Whisk well to blend fully. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
02
To make the salad, combine the cabbage, green onions, red pepper, spinach, and carrot in a medium bowl and toss until evenly mixed. Dress with about half of the dressing, toss well, and then add more dressing to taste as desired.
03
Lay a large piece of aluminum foil flat on a work surface and fold the edges up slightly. Lay the salmon pieces skin side down on one half of the foil. Combine the lime juice, soy sauce, garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle the mixture evenly over the salmon fillets. Sprinkle the ginger rounds over the fillets, drizzle lightly with sriracha, and season with salt and pepper. Fold the empty half of the foil over the salmon and fold the edges over to seal the packet completely.
04
Transfer to the heated grill or oven to bake. Let cook until fully cooked through and an instant read thermometer inserted in the center reads 160˚ F. (Cooking time will vary depending on your cooking method and the thickness of the fillets. Remove smaller fillets as needed when fully cooked through, to avoid overcooking while waiting on the larger pieces to finish.) Serve the warm salmon over a bed of the cabbage salad.

Source

slightly adapted from Perry’s Plate