Wasabi & Honey Glazed Salmon with Coconut Rice

I just love it when I spot a recipe, read the ingredients and realize I have everything to make it! I especially appreciate when an ingredient is something that has been sitting, neglected, in my cupboard (wasabi paste)-- and I finally have an incentive to use. That was the case when Mary posted this recipe on her blog "One Perfect Bite".   The only thing I had to do was to stop at Whole Foods, which is conveniently on my route home, to buy fresh salmon.

Fresh Coho Salmon-- two six-ounces pieces cost about $11.00... not bad, for Whole Foods!

On a whim, I also decided to make coconut rice as a side dish-- and if I had snow peas, I would served them as a perfect accompaniment. Alas, I didn't, but I served wilted spinach and the last of Brussel sprouts (which my husband loves, and I like).

The rice is pretty easy to make, and I started it, first. It takes about 30 minutes to make. I used 1 3/4 cups water, 1/2 cup Lite Coconut Milk (I always keep this on hand), and 3 Tbsp. of Sweet Chili Sauce. Sweet Chili Sauce is pretty easy to find-- usually it's in the international section at your local grocery store. I've spotted it at Trader Joe's, too.

I pour the coconut milk into simmering water, add the chili sauce (you can add less if you don't want much of a "kick"- though chili sauce isn't super hot, anyway.  Bring the liquids to a boil, add the rice, cover the pot and cook on low for about 20 minutes.  After that, let it sit for about 10 minutes...

Now, for the glaze sauce:

Honey, wasabi paste, rice vinegar, low-sodium soy sauce (I always buy Tamari), fresh ginger root and Mirin. If you don't have Mirin, then vermouth can work, or a dry white wine...or none of those.   Mix all of this in a sauce pan, but add the wasabi paste a little at a time. I found that a scant teaspoon was enough for us. I doubled the honey, after tasting it. That's why I renamed this recipe as Wasabi & Honey Glaze, to adapt to my fondness for honey.  Bring all of this to a boil, reduce to medium and let it thicken. Mine took about 10 minutes to thicken.

Here's where I adapted Mary's recipe to be my fool-proof way of cooking salmon.  In an oven-proof skillet, I use a light coating of olive oil and heat it on medium-high, until the oil is shimmering...

I seared the salmon for about 4 minutes, undisturbed...then turned it over skin-side down and I decided to brush some of the glaze over each piece.  The the whole skillet goes into a pre-heated oven at 425F...

...and it's roasted for about 4 more minutes.  Perfect!

I spooned the glaze over the salmon, but I think you could also brush it on. Mine got pretty thick, because I added extra honey.

The next time I make this easy glaze, I will double the amount. It's that good!

I have a delicious Roasted Brussel Sprout recipe that I will post, soon. Tonight, I steam these since Craig likes them roasted or steamed. Me?

I'm so glad you asked! I wilted fresh spinach in a garlic-infused olive oil-- I love spinach!

Printable recipes for both of these dishes can be found at the bottom of this post. If you are receiving my blog via Feedburner, you will need to JUMP to my blog to view them.

Mary, thanks for posting this recipe.  It was excellent, and definitely plan to use this glaze sauce recipe again. In fact, I think it would delicious without wasabi, if someone doesn't have it on hand. I have no idea why I had an unopened tube of wasabi, but I'm glad that I did.  This is for you!  If you haven't discovered "One Perfect Bite", please pop in and you will see that there are a lot of scrumptious recipes and beautiful photos.