How to Make a Maple Ginger Glaze for Salmon
This is a great technique for cooking salmon filets that is quick to prepare AFTER you prep all the ingredients. Not that any of the prep work is difficult, it just takes time to peel and mince a bunch of ingredients. For example, zesting an orange is easy, but it takes time.
I like to get one of my daughters to help me get all the ingredients prepped so when my wife gets home from work, everything is ready to go. My youngest daughter is great at reading the recipe, figuring out what has to be done and tell me what to do. Sound familiar?
Cooking Techniques - Pan Fry and Glaze
In this recipe, the salmon is first pan fried in a little oil in a hot pan. Simple enough but then it is finished in a maple ginger glaze using a glazing technique.
Confused?
I was at first but all this means is you make a simple glaze with the maple syrup, ginger and orange zest, reduce it down and then spoon (glaze) it over the salmon for a minute or two until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
You can use this glazing technique of spooning hot liquids including butter, stocks, juices, glazes over cooked fish filets in all of your pan fry seafood recipes. It’s a great way to finish any dish.
We served this dish with a wonderful watercress, orange and parsnip salad recipe.
Pan Fried Salmon with Maple Ginger Glaze Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 fillets salmon skin on
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic peeled & finely minced
- 1½ inch piece ginger peeled & finely minced
- 1 large shallots peeled & finely minced
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup try to find the real stuff
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 orange zested
- 1 tablespoons sesame oil
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Start by taking the salmon out of the refrigerator before you begin prepping the ingredients.
- Mince the garlic, ginger and shallots and finely zest the orange and save the rest of the orange for another use.
- Pat the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel, then season them with salt & pepper.
- I like to heat up my frying (sauté) pan before I add 1 tablespoon of oil and let it get hot.
- I then add the salmon fillets skin side down. Loosely cover the pan with some aluminum foil and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the skin is nice and crispy.
- Flip over and cook another few minutes until the fish is cooked through.
- Transfer the cooked salmon fillets to a plate and cover loosely with the foil to keep them warm. Carefully give the pan a wipe with a paper towel off heat.
- Place the pan back on the stove-top, add the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat up over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic, ginger and shallots.
- Let these ingredients cook for about 1 minute until they begin to soften and give off a wonderful fragrant smell. Be sure to stir frequently so they don’t burn.
- Add the maple syrup, soy sauce, orange zest, sesame oil and the ½ cup of water.
- Continue cooking and stirring for about 1 minute until all the ingredients are well combined and the sauce begins to thicken. If it needs more time, so be it but don’t cook it down to nothing.
Glaze the Salmon
- Transfer the cooked salmon fillets back to the pan skin side down over medium heat.
- While the salmon is heating up, spoon the sauce over the entire salmon filet to coat it completely. Keep spooning until the sauce reaches your desired thickness.
- Remove from heat and plate.
Notes
Elaine Duncan
Do you use microplanes for zesting?? They were adapted from woodworking and make zesting painless, safe, fast and easy.
The Reluctant Gourmet
Hi Elaine, I often use a microplane for zesting but I still like to use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest and then a knife for cutting it up to desired size. Not sure why but I think its a matter of preference plus I find the microplane difficult to clean.
Di
Hi, I see you use both stainless steel and non stick pans. A quick question, which non stick saute pans do you use and why? Thanks in advance!
The Reluctant Gourmet
Hi Di, I have been collecting pans over the years and have all sorts of non stick pans. I typically only use non stick for fish, eggs and veggie dishes because I want meats and chicken to create those brown bits (fond) for pan sauces. For years, I would pick up a less expensive non stick pan because after a while they would scratch and I would need to replace them. Now they
are making them so much better, they last a lot longer. I still haven't given you a good answer because I'm not sure which is my favorite non stick saute pan. To me, it's more about the feel and weight of the pan. If it feels right at home in my hand when I'm cooking, that's what I'm looking for. I have a couple of small sauce pans that were free when I bought the saute pan I wanted. I don't like them but hate to throw any pan away. They are top heavy, too small and just don't feel right in my hands but my wife like them so aren't going anywhere. Maybe I can give them to my daughters when they go to college.