Bought a few pieces of salmon fillet from Myfishman.com. Fish and seafood I get from them are usually very fresh and yummy, and I had high expectations from the salmon I got. I wanted to make something that is simple yet fully brings out the fish as the star attraction.
Found a recipe by CookingClassy.com which seemed to fit the bill. My salmon fillets were bigger than what was prescribed in the recipe, but I found the suggested cooking time to not differ much. It is very crucial to keep watch on your salmon, you absolutely do not want to ruin a good piece of fish by overcooking it. When the fish turns pink, check the thickest part. When it looks flaky when pierced with a knife, it should be ready.
I had the heat up too high when making the sauce and overbrowned the garlic quite a bit, however no one seemed to notice any bitter aftertaste. I guess it wasn’t such a major blunder.
This was my first time working with asparagus, and I didn’t trim the fibrous parts enough. The trick is to bend one or two until they break naturally; they will break just where the juicy bits end and the woody bits start. This should be a good gauge on how much to take off the rest of the bunch. #TIL
Oh my God this was amazing. Salmon was perfectly cooked and the flesh was beautifully turgid, the sauce was buttery yet pleasantly tangy which went really well with the fish. The no-frills asparagus also made a great side for this dish.
This dish took me about 30 minutes to make, with perhaps 15 minutes prep time tops. Super simple and delicious, I highly recommend it!
Garlic Lemon Butter Salmon with Buttered Asparagus
Ingredients
- 3 (10-ounce/ 280 gram) salmon fillets
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup chicken broth OR 1/2 teaspoon Maggi concentrated chicken stock diluted in 1/4 cup hot water
- Juice from 1 small lemon, about 2 tablespoons
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (daun ketumbar), chopped
- 300 grams asparagus, fibrous parts trimmed
Directions
Prepare the sauce. In a small skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon butter.
Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 1 minute.
Add the chicken stock and lemon juice.
Continue simmering, until sauce has reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 minutes.
Add 3 tablespoons of butter and the honey, and stir to combine. Set aside.
Prepare the asparagus. Prepare a steaming basket over a boiling pot of water. Add the asparagus and steam until tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Toss in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, and season with salt and pepper.
Pat dry both sides of the salmon using paper towels, and season with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil.
When the pan is hot, gently add the salmon and cook, undisturbed, 4 minutes.
Flip to the other side and cook, another 2 minutes. Eyeball the fish carefully around the 1 minute 30 second mark, the fish is done when the thickest part appears to flake when pierced with a knife (I use my tongs).
Transfer to a plate and drizzle generously with the sauce, and garnish with the chopped cilantro. Serve with the asparagus on the side. Enjoy!
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