Break out of your chicken rut tonight! This salmon is marinated in a flavorful mix of orange, ginger, and Chinese five-spice powder served with green beans that have a hint of spiciness from some crushed red pepper.
My cooking tends to lean towards Italian or Mediterranean dishes. Though I do love Asian cuisine, I don't make many meals with that flavor profile. Traditional Chinese flavors consist of salty, spicy, sour, sweet, and bitter. They aren't necessarily used all at once. There is usually a combination of these that contribute to the flavors of a dish. So, I decided to branch out for tonight's dinner. I had bought some salmon, green beans, and Chinese five-spice powder. Let's see what I come with!
I keep a well-stocked pantry of staples. I'm better prepared to cook when I have the basics around. I have a variety of kinds of vinegar, olive oils, and spices on hand. I love this comment from Bon Appetit’s Food Director, Carla Lalli Music, in a recent interview she did for The Kitchn. Click here to read the full article.
"I’m not a meal prep person — I don’t plan stuff out in advance....keep the right mix of ingredients in your kitchen at all times, so that way you don’t necessarily have to plan for whatever recipe you’re going to make, but you can always find yourself in a good position to cook." - Carla Lalli Music, Bon Appetit's Food Director
Amen, Carla! I am not a meal prep person either.
The only thing I didn't have on hand was Chinese five-spice powder. It has been years since I kept it in my cabinet. I used to make a Chinese chicken salad with it. I will have to find that recipe and share it with you. It is a delicious chicken salad. If you aren't familiar with Chinese five-spice powder, it blends star anise (which has a licorice flavor), cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds. It has a very distinctive flavor that you either like or dislike.
My Orange, Ginger, Five Spice Salmon is an easy one pan recipe with little clean up at the end. Don't you love that?! For the salmon, I made a marinade of orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic, and Chinese five-spice powder. The green beans get their flavor from some sesame seed oil and crushed red pepper. If you can't eat or don't like spicy foods, then omit the red pepper. The green beans will still be delicious without it. If you really love heat, Fresno peppers would be delicious with the green beans. They are similar to a serrano chili pepper, which is hotter than a jalapeño. If you want a spicy jolt, go for it!
Reserve some of the marinade to spoon over the cooked salmon, or to use it as a dipping sauce. Marinate the salmon for at least 30 minutes. I wouldn't recommend marinating the salmon any longer than an hour. The acid in the marinade will start to cook the fish. Over marinating is a common mistake people make. Here is a great article if you'd like to learn more. Click Here
Leaving the skin on will protect the delicate fish flesh from the hot pan. Once you turn the salmon over, you're going to add the green beans to the pan, cover, and turn off the heat. If you don't have a lid that will fit tightly on the pan, then use foil. You want to keep in as much heat as possible to steam the green beans. Alternatively, you could pre-steam the green beans in the microwave for a minute to start the cooking process.
This salmon dish cooks very quickly, and dinner is ready in minutes. Perfect for a busy night when you don't have much time to devote to cooking. I hope you enjoy this as much as my family did.
The green beans will still be firm to the bite. If you like your green beans softer, then pre-cook them in the microwave, then add to the pan to finishing cooking.
Until next time, friends! XO!
Orange Ginger Five Spice Salmon
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 six-ounce salmon fillets
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Zest from 1 medium-sized orange
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (1 medium-sized orange)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
or 1 tablespoon fresh, grated ginger
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
Kosher salt
Fresh, ground black pepper
8 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
Method
In a shallow baking dish, mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, garlic, honey, ground ginger, and five-spice powder. Reserve about 1/4 cup. Add the salmon, flesh side down, and marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes, but no more than an hour, at room temperature.
In a large bowl, mix the trimmed green beans with olive oil and sesame seed oil, crushed red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, and Kosher salt. Use a microwave safe bowl if you are planning on pre-steaming the green beans.
Heat a large, non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Pat salmon dry, drizzle with some olive oil, and season with Kosher salt and fresh, ground black pepper. Place top side down in skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until nicely brown. Flip salmon, add green beans on either side of the fish. Cover skillet and turn off the heat. Let the residual heat finish cooking the salmon and steam the green beans. Cover pan tightly with foil, if you don't have a lid for your pan. (Another option is to pre-steam the green beans and then add to the pan to finish cooking with the salmon.) This will take about 4 minutes. Spoon reserved marinade on salmon. Serve with rice on the side.
Comments