Salmon. What comes to mind when you hear someone mention salmon? I love salmon with the skin on, so I often remember the crispy skin and the tender flesh that often melts in my mouth especially when made into sushi, sashimi or pan seared… yummy! If I was born and lived in an area where salmon were in abundance like Vancouver or Japan I would probably eat sashimi everyday 😀 Isn’t it interesting though that salmon and other similar fish can be light in texture but filling at the same time and very addictive. So I guess I understand why most birds love them.
Salmon is very delicate and can be eaten raw, cooked or semi cooked, I guess depending on different people with different preferences. I don’t really mind as long as it’s clean when served raw and is crispy on the outside when cooked. Some people prefer them steamed and oven baked, not that there’s anything wrong with it, I just don’t like them soggy.
Growing up in a country where 98% of the time the population use fresh water fish in cooking rather than red meat or sea fish, I learned a few tricks from my mum and grandma about how to prepare and cook fish. The most common way of cooking fish is by cutting them into 3-5 (including heads) portions and then adding them into soups along with vegetables. Because most of the Cambodian households still don’t have access to electricity or cannot afford a fridge they use the traditional way of preserving meat, fish and poultry. The other Cambodian ways of cooking fish are pan fried or open fire bbq. The fish is always seasoned with salt, sugar and stock powder and then left to marinate for 1 hour or over night before cooking. If the fish isn’t cooked the next day they are often left to dry in the sun for 2-3 days before storing. About 99.9% of the time the marinated fish is scored on both sides. Scoring fish before marinating them helps the seasoning seep into the flesh better and it also helps to cut down smaller bones that make it easier to eat.
Note: make a few strip cuts on the skin with your knife about 1/3 cm deep. You don’t want to cut them deeper than that or they will break when cooking. When scoring the skin make sure your knife is very sharp, this will make it easier to score without damaging the flesh underneath the skin. Scoring fish, especially fillets also helps to make the scored side lay flatter in the pan that helps to cook them more evenly. If you want a big piece of crispy salmon skin I recommend skipping the scoring.
Doesn’t matter whether you decide to grill or bake the fish, never leave the seasoning out especially salt and pepper. Seasoning meat, fish or poultry before cooking helps to bring out its flavours more when cooking. When cooking the salmon, keep in mind to never flip the fish more than once.
One thing I’ve been trying to mention is salt. From experience I’ve used table salt, Himalayan salt, rock salt and salt flakes. You know what, iodized rock/flake sea salt are the best choice, I personally say so because it is the most natural salt there is compared to others. Honestly we don’t need extra chemicals added to have a better salt taste. Most people are using pink Himalayan salt these days, I stopped using it because there were heaps and heaps of rocks among the salt which makes it hard to eat without biting in to a rock, the colour is pretty though. Just for thoughts, keep an open mind. 🙂
PAN SEARED SALMON
Prep-Time: 5 mins Serve: 2
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Ingredients
2 salmon pieces with skin
Fresh grounded salt and pepper
2 stork fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
Method
Score the salmon skin with a sharp knife and then lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on top and in to the scored parts.
Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat and then add in the salmon, skin down once the oil is nice and hot. Add in the thyme, garlic and then sprinkle salt and pepper on the topside.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes before flipping it over. To be sure that the salmon are ready to be flipped over, by checking the lower part of the salmon to see if it’s cooked about 1/3 (bottom up) then it’s ready. Turn the salmon over.
Tilt the frying pan to one side, dish the oil with a spoon and pour it over the top of the salmon. This will help to cook the salmon evenly and keep the skin crispy. Continuously doing so for 2-3 minutes or until the other side of the salmon is cooked.
Flip the salmon over again so the skin side is face down on the pan; remove from heat and leave it to rest for about 8 minutes. Prepare your sides and ready to be served.