sticky honey-ginger salmon and snap peas

with brown butter scallion rice

Hi! We leave for Patagonia tomorrow! AH! Leaving for a long trip that requires actual *gear* (waterproof pants, insulated hiking boots, etc.!) is such an undertaking, plus our kids were out of school this week, so it’s been a cuckoo week around here. It’s also been a beautiful week around here — with temps in the high 60s and 70s, so I had quick, light food on the brain. Enter: sticky honey-ginger salmon with snap peas.

Snap peas are one of those vegetables that, yes, are best when locally grown, picked fresh off of a warm vine in the summertime, but are also truly delicious year round. I pick up a bag of snap peas at the grocery regularly because they are such a speedy side dish — my go-to is cooking them over high heat in a little sesame oil until blistered, then adding soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, a tiny pat of butter, and a little sriracha. Yum.

But here, they are a part of the main dish — a fresh and crunchy addition to a saucy salmon with teriyaki vibes. We’re serving the salmon and snap peas with my latest rice obsession: brown butter scallion rice, which is up there with coconut rice in terms of deliciousness (of course, if you’re a coconut rice mega fan and would rather, you could use that instead).

We are coating the salmon in a light dusting of flour to help it crisp up nicely, and help the sauce cling to it ever-so-perfectly. We also use a little flour in the sauce to help it thicken up! You can leave the flour out and the recipe will still be perfectly delicious.

All together, it’s easy, it’s healthy, it’s delicious. Enjoy!

Answers to questions I often get about salmon!

Q: What kind of salmon do you buy?
A: I almost always cook with farmed Atlantic salmon (typically from Costco). It’s not quite as nutritious as wild salmon, which is leaner, but I find it to be much tastier, less “fishy” tasting, and not dry like wild salmon can be. That’s just a personal preference though — if you prefer wild salmon, you can absolutely use it for this (or any WTC salmon recipe).

Q: Can I use frozen salmon?
A: Yes! Just let it thaw in the fridge overnight.

Q: My salmon has skin on it — what do I do?
A: If you’re still shopping, you can ask the fishmonger/butcher to take the skin off for you. You could even ask them to cube the salmon into 1-inch cubes, if you think about it (and they have time) to save yourself a step! If you get home and see that your salmon has skin on it, here’s a tutorial for how to remove it. You’ve got this! Or, if you love salmon skin, keep it on! George loves it, I do not.

Q: Not a question but… I hate salmon.
A: First of all, are you sure!? If you’ve only ever tasted wild salmon, you might first want to give farmed Atlantic a try. It’s buttery, rich, and doesn’t taste fishy. You also might find that you like it when it’s cut into cubes and coated in sauce, like we’re doing today, rather than served as a big filet. But if you KNOW you hate it — or you don’t have access to it — another meaty fish like Amberjack/Yellowtail, Arctic Char, Bluefish, Mackerel, Mahi Mahi, Tilefish, or Wahoo would be great. If you don’t eat fish, make it with chicken! See the substitutions section beneath the recipe for a how-to.

If you’re obsessed with this salmon/snap pea collab and want to cook them together again as soon as possible, try my sheet-pan chili crisp salmon and snap peas (left). To be honest, I forgot that I’d already paired salmon with snap peas here — oh well, we’re doing it again! For a similar teriyaki moment, there’s sheet-pan sesame soy steak and veggies (middle). And for another recipe involving salmon “bites” coated in a yummy sauce, try 30-minute honey gochujang glazed salmon and broccoli bowls.

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Serves 4

Cook time: 30 minutes