Miss Raven's Kitchen

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Coconut Lime Salmon hits a bunch of flavor profiles all at once, and I am here for it. Seared salmon in a coconut milk sauce that is both sweet and umami-rich, given life by lime juice and zest. Serve this over rice noodles or rice for the perfect dinner. The best part: it comes together within 40 minutes!

Table of Contents:

1. Table of Contents:
2. Why You’ll Love This Recipe
3. Ingredients for Coconut Lime Salmon
4. Tips & FAQs
5. Recipe:
6. Check out these other great recipes!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Let me start off by saying this: I’ve been scared to try anything with coconut milk. I always thought I wouldn’t like it, but it all changed when I stepped out of my comfort zone to make this delicious dish. It’s the start of summer, so naturally, I’m looking for dishes that are a bit lighter for the hot days. I don’t want to be weighed down by heavy foods. This recipe answered every question I had. Is it comforting? Yes. Is it perfect for the summer? Yes. Is this something I want to make over and over again for the summer and will never get tired of? Absolutely!

The coconut lime sauce is one of the reasons why I will be writing more recipes using coconut milk. It’s not sweet at all, thanks to the unsweetened factor. Adding aromatics packed the sauce with flavors of ginger, garlic, and shallots. Brown sugar gives it some sweetness. The soy sauce and fish sauce are umami bombs and were much needed for this dish, as leaving them out didn’t sit right with me. The sauce was sweet before adding the soy sauce and fish sauce, so this definitely helped round it all out. A touch of sriracha was added to cut through the sweet and umami flavors. Finally, adding in the lime zest and juice brought the sauce to life. It wasn’t overpowering anything else. It’s all about balance in this recipe, and I can say that this recipe is perfectly balanced. All you need is a side of rice or rice noodles and sake!

Ingredients for Coconut Lime Salmon

• Salmon: Six ounces per filet is a perfect serving size. Make sure your salmon is deboned and doesn’t have the skin. If you choose to leave the skin on, then make sure it’s descaled. You don’t want to bite into those; trust me.
• Full-Fat Unsweetened Coconut Milk: Full-fat, unsweetened, and milk are keywords here. You want the full-fat so the sauce isn’t thin. Make sure it’s unsweetened; the whole dish will be way too sweet. Save the sweetened coconut milk for desserts. Make sure the can says milk, not cream! Cream is sweet. Use the canned coconut milk and not your coconut milk beverage from the fridge section. It’s watered down and will thin out your sauce.
• Lime Zest & Juice: This wakes up the entire dish. Both the zest and juice are needed, but don’t worry about it being too acidic. It mellows out while simmering for a bit, so it’s not too harsh, but it’s still prominent enough so you get a taste of lime with each bite.
• Shallots, Garlic, Ginger: The aromatics for this dish. You get delightful pops of mellowed ginger, garlic, and shallots. It flavors the sauce well.
• Sriracha: I only used a little bit to cut through the sweet, umami, and acid flavors. If you aren’t a huge fan of spice, feel free to omit this, but I feel it’s needed. It’s not too spicy at all. Just a tiny kick to balance everything.
• Soy Sauce & Fish Sauce: The umami-packed liquids that take this dish from dull to delicious. Fish sauce is often used in thai cooking, which is kind of what I was gearing towards for this recipe. Naturally, I had to use it. Only a little bit goes in as its flavor is very powerful. It’s just enough to give that umami flavor to the sauce.
• Brown Sugar: The sweetness factor. The brown sugar gets caramelized, which gives the sauce its brownish color.

Tips & FAQs

• Storage: Fish is best enjoyed the day of, but this can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container up to 3 days.
• What to Serve with This: You can boil some rice noodles or make rice with this. A cucumber salad with rice vinegar, chili crisp, and some red onion and carrots makes a great accompaniment if you’re looking for a lighter dinner. Try a mango slaw for a tropical vibe.
• Does the salmon need to be skin-on or skin-off? Skin off is preferred for this dish. Once you get that perfect crispy skin, it’ll just get soggy when you simmer it in the sauce.
• Variations:
  • Make this with chicken or shrimp if you aren’t a fan of salmon. Just be aware of the cooking times since they will need to be adjusted.
  • Add some curry paste to make a coconut-lime curry sauce.
  • Add some chopped roasted peanuts for texture.
• Wine Pairings:
  • An Off-Dry Riesling is your best pairing. It keeps the coconut sauce from feeling heavy and plays well with the acidity and sweetness.
  • A Sauvignon Blanc is another good pairing. It’s bright and herbaceous, so it lifts the whole dish.
  • If you added more sriracha to the dish, a Gewürztraminer is a great option. It’s aromatic and slightly sweet. It handles the spice better than most wines.
  • Avoid any red wines. It overpowers the fish and fights the citrus. Oaky Chardonnays aren’t great with this as they clash with the lime and make everything taste heavy.
  • For Non-Alcoholic Options: A citrus spritz pairs well. Adding some lemonade or limeade to sparkling water complements the seafood and brightens the dish. Or, you can do anything fruit with sparkling water! For tropical coconut vibes, make a pineapple-coconut drink with pineapple juice, coconut water, and a hint of lime. If you made it spicy, serve some ginger ale. The bubbles cut the richness and balance the heat. Avoid heavy creamy drinks such as smoothies or milkshakes; they’re just too rich. Super sugary sodas flatten the dish. Simple apple juice or grape juice with no acidity makes everything feel heavy,

Recipe:

Check out these other great recipes!