Rev: Salmon with Sweet-and-Sour Pan Sauce CL 3/2004

[golden1225]

I made this tonight - delicious! Next time I will steam the fish instead of pan-fry; I prefer the more delicate flavor (and fewer calories) of steaming. The sauce was so tasty; the contrast of sweet and sour gave it a Vietnamese-like flavor. I'll definitely use that sauce again.
:)

[Lynn B]

The first few reviews of each new month always get me so excited (and EAGER!) I haven't gotten my new issue yet!

Thanks for the "heads up" - I'll check out this recipe as soon as my dang magazine comes! :)

Lynn

[Pony]

I thought this one sounded good! Thanks for the review.

Michelle

[Vicanddi]

Lynne, can you share the recipe, for those of us that are
March-less? TIA!:)

[golden1225]

Vicanddi, here you go!


* Exported from MasterCook *

Salmon with Sweet-and-Sour Pan Sauce

Serving Size : 4
Categories : Seafood

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 cloves garlic -- minced
24 ounces salmon fillets -- cut into 4 fillets
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper -- freshly ground

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over low heat.

Combine broth and next 5 ingredients. (broth through garlic)

Increase heat to medium-high, and heat 3 minutes.

While pan heats, sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Add fillets to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove fillets from pan.

Drain fat from pan, and discard fat. Add broth mixture to pan, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil, cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Serve sauce over fish.

Source:
"Cooking Light Magazine, March 2004"
Yield:
"1 fillet each with 1 1/2 T sauce"
Ratings : Very good 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 263 Calories; 10g Fat (34.9% calories from fat); 35g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 89mg Cholesterol; 554mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 5 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : 2-16-04 I would steam fish next time; pan-frying is messy,
adds calories and doesn't deliver the "lightness" of
steaming. I added Penzey's Shallot Pepper, which was a
nice touch. Sauce is excellent; kind of Vietnames-like.
Served with creamed cauliflower and fresh grape tomatoes

[AnnaC]

Golden1225, this is a really dumb question, but I've never steamed fish before- how do you steam fish? In the microwave? on the stovetop? I'd like to try this recipe w/ your suggestion of steaming it first.
Thanks,
Anna

[golden1225]

Hi AnnaC, I'll tell you what Japanase friend taught me to do. She takes a dutch oven or large pot with a lid, then places a bowl in it, upside down. Add water to halfway up the bowl. Then place a plate on top of the bowl, and put your fish on the plate! Doing this allows you to keep a bit of the marinade, if used, unlike when you use a steamer basket. There are also little metal stands you can buy quite inexpensively (I got one for about $1.50) at Asian markets; place the stand in your pot and the plate on top of the stand. Having said that, I still occasionally use a steamer basket in my large spaghetti pot, especially if I've just steamed veggies and have the water already going.
Good luck!
:)

[AnnaC]

So in this recipe, you would steam it with the marinade instead of steaming it alone first and serving the sauce on top of it?
What if I just steamed it alone- DD likes her salmon very plain jane so I was thinking of serving hers plain and just making my piece with the marinade.
Also, when steaming, there is no need to flip the fish, right?

[golden1225]

You've got it! No flipping required. You could steam it with only salt and pepper on it add the sauce separately. Why not!

[kristalsnow7]

This sounds great, thanks! I am really looking forward to the March issue.

[ginny177]

Hate to admit my ignorance, but what is "fish sauce"?
Is it like tartar sauce ?

[kristalsnow7]

Ginny,

Fish sauce lends a salty, somewhat fermented flavor to dishes. I would say it's more like soy sauce than anything else.

Here's a link to a picture and description. :)

http://importfood.com/sati7501.html

[Shirley Panek]

Ginny -

It's definitely not like tartar sauce! The brand I use is Tiparos (made in Thailand). Ingredients: Anchovy, water, and salt.

It smells awful, but makes asian dishes taste really good! Here's what Cook's Thesaurus (http://www.foodsubs.com) has to say:

fish sauce = fish gravy Notes: Varieties include Thai fish sauce = nam pla, Vietnamese fish sauce = nuoc mam, patis, a Filipino fish sauce that isn't as highly regarded as the Vietnamese or Thai versions, and shottsuru, a Japanese fish sauce. Substitutes: light soy sauce OR To make your own mock fish sauce, simmer for 10 minutes: 1 can drained anchovies + 2 cloves bruised and peeled garlic + ½ teaspoon brown sugar + ¼ teaspoon salt + 1 ¼ cups water, then strain. (Adapted from a recipe in the All Around the World Cookbook by Sheila Lukins. See my sources.) OR simmer for 10 minutes: 1 part soy sauce + 4 parts anchovies (Adapted from a recipe in Substituting Ingredients by Becky Sue Epstein and Hilary Dole Klein. See my sources.) OR soak anchovies from one small can (about 14 fillets) in 1 C water, strain, then add 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Notes: See also the RecipeSource.com posting Fish Sauce (Nuoc Mam) which discusses the best Vietnamese fish sauce brands.

[ginny177]

Kristal - That was facinating reading. I may get some,but won't have it soon enough to try this recipe (tomorrow).
Would there be something else I could substitute --or can I just omit this ingredient?

[kristalsnow7]

Ginny,

I think it would probably be fine to omit the fish sauce. Maybe add a tad more soy sauce to the recipe, to taste. :)

[Shirley Panek]

Ginny -

They sell it in the grocery store - in the Asian foods section.

[RD chef]

When I steam fish, I use the steamer basket in my big pot. Then I put a bowl or plate with the marinade and fish right into the steamer basket. It keeps the bowl or plate elevated and eliminates the need for the inverted bowl. Just another way to do it.;)

[akushner]

I made this last night!! And WOW! Not only was this wonderful...it was super easy!!

I broiled the fish in the oven while I made the sauce in a pan. I did add some cornstarch to the sauce to thicken it up a bit (kinda of like a general tso's consistency). I put the salmon in the sauce to get the sauce a bit infused...and wow. Amazing taste. And so simple!! I also ommited the oil and the fish sauce and got the calories down to 187 per salmon piece :)

I cook a lot of salmon and try not to repeat recipes lol...and this one will definitely be a repeater!!

[Kayaksoup]

Excellent recipe! I made this tonight and was very happy with it. Mine was a little sweeter because I had no chicken broth on hand, so used a quarter cup of pineapple juice purchased for an earlier recipe. Served it with brown rice and stirfried snow peas.

[stefania4]

This was one of the few times I made a recipe shortly after getting the magazine. On New Year's Day I made it with tuna and it worked beautifully! I had brown rice (I just have to have fish with rice) and steamed broccoli.