Thai-Style Baked Wild Salmon
I never knew wild and farmed salmon had much difference apart from how they’re harvested, until I tried cooking it myself. Not only does it cook in half the time, the texture is meatier and the flesh is leaner. You can see from the image too that the colour of the flesh is a deeper reddish-pink (rather than orange).
Oily fish like salmon contain a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help to maintain a healthy heart, so try to include them in your diet on a weekly basis. Here’s an easy recipe for Thai-Style Baked Wild Salmon to try out at home!
Shopping tip: when shopping for seafood, try to purchase those that are Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified. Look out for the MSC blue fish tick on your wild seafood to make sure it was sustainably caught and handled (from fishery to retailer). Not only are you buying wild-caught seafood that is sustainable, you are also encouraging other fisheries to be certified and for retailers to come on board to produce and stock sustainably-sourced seafood.
My favourite place to get all the herbs used in this recipe is the Thai Supermarket at Golden Mile. They sell rolls of the banana leaves too. If you want to get single sheets, you can get those at Tekka Market.
This recipe was created for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and can be found along with other recipes using MSC certified sustainable seafood on: https://stories.msc.org/sg/blue-cookbook/
THE RECIPE
SERVES 2
Ingredients
2 fillets of MSC certified wild salmon
2 medium-sized banana leaves (see notes)
½ cup coconut milk
Paste
4 garlic
2 shallot
1" ginger
1 chilli padi
2 lemongrass, white parts only
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 kaffir lime leaves, sliced
1 large lime, juiced
2 coriander roots
a handful of Thai basil
Directions
Heat the oven to 175ºC.
In a processor, blend all the ingredients for the paste until smooth. Add in the coconut milk and mix well.
In a bowl, coat the salmon fillets with half of the marinade and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Place a salmon fillet in the middle of each banana leaf (smooth side out), topping with 1 tbsp of remaining marinade.
Fold the leaf tightly into a packet, securing it with a toothpick. Place it into a baking dish, seam side down.
Bake for 10 min (15-20 min if you're not using wild salmon).
Garnish with some fresh herbs like coriander and Thai basil, and serve with rice.
Notes
You may use parchment paper as an alternative for banana leaves