Chile-Garlic Salmon With Mango and Cucumber Salad

Chile-Garlic Salmon With Mango and Cucumber Salad 

Colorful and complex, this spicy glazed salmon with mango-cucumber salad packs a ton of flavors and textures into a quick weeknight meal. While the salmon roasts in the oven, you chop up a refreshing salad of crunchy cucumber, sweet ripe mango and creamy avocado. Side by side, both components make a bright, breezy meal, but you can also serve with white rice if you’re craving a more filling dinner. The spicy-sweet salmon sauce is built from pantry ingredients (soy sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup, garlic and chile-garlic sauce) and readily adapts to your preferred sweetness and spice levels. While the salmon can be eaten the next day, the mango-cucumber salad is best eaten right away, when it’s at its best and brightest.

Yield: 4 servings

For the Salmon

½ cup soy sauce 

¼ cup maple syrup 

4 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce (preferably Huy Fong)

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

7 medium garlic cloves, finely grated

Ground black pepper, to taste 

4 (5- to 6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets

Cooked white rice (optional), for serving

For the Mango Salad

1 large ripe mango, cubed

1 medium cucumber, quartered lengthwise then thinly sliced

½ lime, juiced 

½ teaspoon fine sea salt 

Ground black pepper, to taste 

1 medium avocado, cubed

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven heats, make the salmon marinade by combining the soy sauce, maple syrup, chile-garlic sauce, sesame oil, garlic and black pepper in a large bowl.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip the salmon fillets in the marinade, making sure to coat all sides. Once the oven is hot, place salmon skin-side down on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, until the fish is tender and flakes easily with a fork. Set aside leftover marinade.

While the salmon roasts, combine all ingredients for the mango salad except the avocado.

In a small saucepan, add the leftover marinade and reduce it over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes, until it thickens to a syrup.

Once the salmon is ready, spoon the thickened sauce over the salmon. Add the avocado to the mango salad and gently mix together.

Serve the salmon and mango salad with white rice, if desired.

TIP:  This was amazing. I didn’t have chili garlic, so I used chili crisp and grated a few extra cloves of garlic and it worked so well. I loved the little kick and the sweetness from the maple. The salad was so refreshing (I made extra to have the next day). This meal comes together so fast!

I used Thai red curry paste and it worked well.

Salmon was great. i would probably cook it 2 minutes less. it only had a small kick to it.

Loved the salad and added cilantro to it which i thought worked well. don't know why someone thought it was slimy. Mine was a great mix of textures and very refreshing!