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How To Cook Salmon by Paul Morris
Being fairly robust and amenable to cutting into reasonable sized “chunks”, salmon lends itself nicely to being poached in a curry sauce. Two of my favourite salmon curries involve coconut these being Thai green curry and Goan fish curry. For the fish component, both curries use skinless, boneless salmon fillet portions that have been cut into cubes of approximately 3 cm/side.
Thai green curry
Of the two recipes this one is the more flexible and my take on it is possibly, less than conventional. Quite simply, my approach is to cut a large onion into narrow wedges by slicing it radially and then separating the layers. This is then fried vigorously with some finely sliced root ginger and green chilli for 3 – 4 minutes. I then add a generous dollop of the curry paste* and fry for a further 1 – 2 minutes after which, I pour in my coconut milk. My preference is for a thicker sauce and in the knowledge that any fish or more particularly prawns, I add may contribute additional water to it, the curry sauce is then allowed to reduce by about 50%.
While the sauce is reducing, I stir fry my thinly sliced vegetables which usually include peppers, baby sweet corn, sugar snaps and mushrooms. Once the sauce is sufficiently reduced, I add the fried vegetables to it and mix thoroughly. Thereafter, I add my salmon chunks and fold them into the mix assuring that all are covered by the sauce. Reduce to the minimum heat and poach the fish for 2-3 minutes or until the fish is just cooked through. Avoid over-cooking the salmon as its texture will deteriorate and particularly, if you are using pre-cooked and shelled prawns as an alternative, over cooking makes them shrink and thins the sauce too much. Additionally, ignore the temptation to stir either too vigorously or frequently because this will break the salmon chunks into individual flakes and that is not desirable.
For best results serve immediately with either rice (sticky white rice is traditional) or, more popular in my house, with egg noodles that have been stir fried in peanut oil and Thai fish sauce with or without crushed peanuts.
*For those who enjoy experimentation, Thai green paste is made from lemon grass, green chilli, shallots, galangal, coriander, tamarind paste, cumin and kafir lime leaves.
Goan fish curry
This recipe is the more formulaic of the two and because the result is so good, I haven’t modified the recipe much since originally discovering it. As a consequence of the hot spices, the vinegar and tamarind paste, this is a medium-hot and sour dish though, there is plenty of scope to control both attributes to your liking by adjusting the amounts of cayenne and tamarind paste used.
The first task is to generously drizzle white wine vinegar over the surface of the salmon cubes (see above). The chunks should then be dusted lightly with turmeric and salt before being covered and set aside in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Finely chop an onion and some garlic and fry until the onion is soft but not browned. Add a generous amount of ground coriander (e.g. ½ tsp per person) and fry for another minute. Make a paste with ground turmeric cayenne and paprika, (in proportion 1 : 2 : 4 respectively [dividing by 3-4 approximate per person amount]) and water. Stir the paste into the frying onions and cook over a low heat for another 1-2 minutes. Add some creamed coconut to the onion and spice mix (about 30-40g per person) and allow it to melt with continual stirring. Creamed coconut can be substituted with coconut milk though, you will need to reduce the liquid before continuing. Add a generous dollop of tamarind paste (at least 1-2 tsp per person) to the coconut / spice mixture and mix thoroughly. Allow the sauce to reduce slightly to compensate for any excess juices that may have come out of the fish while marinating.
Mix the fish into the sauce introducing any juices and vinegar left on the plate and assuring that all pieces are covered and poach the fish for 3-4 minutes. As with the Thai curry, once the fish starts to cook and when serving, avoid over-frequent or vigorous stirring. Once the fish is cooked, serve with plain boiled rice.
For best results, share with family and friends.
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