The other day my local fish monger was selling small-sized (about 2.5-3#) salmons, so I had to purchase one. I always make salmon fillets, so cooking a whole one is different. And with all of the white salmon in my freezer that I've been making for the past several months, it was a welcome change. I didn't want to steam it or bake it--and definitely NOT fry it, so I decided to poach it, although poaching is "sort of" like steaming. Since my pantry has a variety of spices/ingredients, I thought about making a Thai Style poached salmon, so I perused the Net for some ideas (with more than 300 cookbooks in my library, I still peruse the net for ideas). After coming across an interesting recipe from the Australian website taste.com, I pulled out some of my favorite Thai ingredients and adapted a dish to my liking.
POACHED
WHOLE SALMON, "THAI" STYLE
3
lemongrass stems, bruised and cut in half 6 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 cup fresh ginger, sliced
6 garlic cloves sliced
2.5# whole salmon cleaned and scaled
1 bunch cilantro (coriander), about 2 cups
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup red onion, sliced
2 1/2 tbs tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup fish sauce
Lime wedges, to serve
Place half of the lemongrass, 4 lime
leaves, garlic and half of the ginger in the cavity of the fish. Put the fish in a poacher, cover with cold
water and slowly bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and let
fish simmer for about 20-30 minutes until just cooked.
While fish is cooking, wash cilantro
and pick off the leaves and refrigerate until ready to use. Chop/slice cilantro
roots. Place palm sugar in a heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add 2
tablespoons of water and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add cilantro roots,
onion, remaining lemongrass and ginger and lime leaves. Bring to a boil, then
simmer over low heat for 5 minutes or until lightly caramelized. Add tamarind
concentrate and fish sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes. Strain and set
aside until ready to serve.
