Sweet Chilli and Honey Glazed Salmon

For someone who eats as much meat as I do, it really surprises me how much I love a good piece of Salmon. I find it has such a distinct yet mild flavour that I enjoy which can be accentuated by a myriad of herbs, spices, marinades and glazes. With the right Suya mixture, you can go the Nigerian route and alternatively with a herbed butter you can give a nod to some Anglo-French roots.

For meal prep or cooking ahead for the week, I do tend to opt for Salmon fillets as they’re just easier to take with me on the go and generally more affordable as well as readily available in supermarkets.

One of the flavour profiles I love generally is anything Pan-Asian, especially when we lean towards the regions that have sweet, sour and spicy flavours – yes please! For some reason, this works perfectly with Salmon all the time! Whether it’s a delicious Salmon steak with all that extra flavour from having the bone in there, or an easy to tackle Salmon fillet – it just works.

This year, I’ve decided to stop believing I’m a lion and eating all the meat in the world… I was curious about how I would survive on a vegan diet, so I eased my way in to being vegan in February by maintaining a pescatarian diet for two weeks at the end of January and I immediately noticed a difference! I felt so much lighter, less bloated and my skin was thankful!

By February, I began my vegan diet and by the 7th of February I had eaten prawns. LOL. Alas, I tried to continue the course but after another week, I decided to let it go like Elsa. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to, and for me, food is an experience to be enjoyed, not just fuel I need to survive.

After a conversation with someone on a similar path to reducing meat intake, I decided to opt for her method which was meatless/pescatarian during the week with one or two meat options during the weekend and honestly it makes so much sense! Obviously you can choose to have your meat meal at any point of the week but as weekends are likely to be the point where you go out with others, it might make sense to leave it as a treat for then.

I’m not a seafood lover, so mussels, squid, etc. are generally off the list for me but as for Salmon, Prawns and Basa…you can count me in! As Salmon is more affordable generally than (giant) King Prawns, I usually have it as part of my weekly meals now. This Sweet Chilli & Honey Glaze is one of my go-tos. It’s incredibly easy to make and always goes down a treat! I saw a chef years ago on Saturday Kitchen making a version of it whilst I was in my teens and it just stuck with me. A few tweaks over the years and here we are!

A few things to remember:

• Never overcook your Salmon. 10 minutes (max 15!) in the oven at 180 degrees celsius is perfect. Anything else will leave it chewy/with a weird texture.
• You can mix the marinade in a separate bowl so you can taste it prior to putting it on the fish because you know….salmonella?
• Where you can, try to use good quality honey, sweet chilli sauce, etc. Nothing extravagant but these things do make a difference.

Enjoy and share with someone you love, even if it’s yourself! Ha!

Sweet Chilli & Honey Glazed Salmon

Quick, easy and delicious – what more could you ask for? If you love Pan-Asian flavours, enjoy salmon and need something easy to make, then this crowd-pleaser is perfect for you!

• 1/2 Cup Sweet Chilli Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Honey
• 1 Lemon
• 2 tbsp Chinese Five Spice
• 1 tbsp Sea Salt/Jumbo
• Handful of Fresh Chopped Coriander/Cilantro
• 4-6 Salmon Fillets ((Descaled, washed and patted dry))

1. Preheat oven to 180°c/350F

2. Place the sweet chilli sauce, honey, chinese five spice, salt/jumbo and coriander/cilantro in a bowl and mix.

3. Squeeze half of the lemon in the mixture and stir to combine.

4. Pour as much of the mixture over the salmon fillets as you would like, ensuring the fillets are completely covered.

5. Leave to marinade for an hour in the fridge if preferred, then bring back to room temperature before cooking.

6. Place fillets on a roasting tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until done. Ensuring you don't overcook them.

7. Enjoy served with some lightly sauteed vegetables like Bok Choy, kale or anything you'd like.