Seared Salmon on Coconut Spinach - a simple, healthy and delicious salmon dinner! Salmon, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, red chili peppers, chili-garlic paste, coconut milk, lemon juice and spinach. Everyone loves this easy salmon dinner!
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Easy and Healthy Salmon Recipes
Have you heard how healthy the Mediterranean Diet is? I know people swear by low carb, Whole 30, Keto and whatever other diets there are out there. However, what I love about the Mediterranean diet is that it's more about including foods than not including foods.
It encourages you to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes and fish and seafood. Poultry and dairy in moderation and red meat and sweets rarely. That's a diet I can live with.
Salmon is one of the fish that is highly recommended on the Mediterranean diet. Luckily we love salmon!
Now, I know today's recipe is an Asian recipe, however it embraces all the good things. Heart healthy salmon, iron and vitamin rich spinach, and coconut milk all served over brown rice.
Note - if you are going to serve this over rice, you need to start the rice first, it will take longer to cook than everything else!
Amazing Salmon Marinade
Once you start cooking, the dinner comes together quickly, so assemble all of the ingredients first and do your chopping and prepping. The salmon begins with an amazing marinade. The marinade is grated ginger (tip - I keep my ginger in the freezer and grate it right from the freezer with a microplane,) toasted sesame oil, and soy sauce.
The salmon marinates in this flavorful marinade for 10 minutes at room temperature. Then you do a quick sear (about 3-4 minutes per side) in your favorite skillet, I use a cast iron skillet.
Coconut Spinach
While the salmon is marinating, you can make the coconut spinach. For the coconut spinach, I used the spinach that you buy in bunches, not the bagged baby spinach. The baby spinach would work, it will just wilt down even more than the larger, more robust spinach.
When using the bunches of spinach, you really need to clean it good. I fill a sink with water and add the spinach and swish it around really well, letting the dirt fall off and settle to the bottom. Then I pull it out and spin it dry.
To make the coconut spinach, you cook the garlic, chilies and chili paste in a saucepan for a couple of minutes. Then you had the coconut milk and lemon juice. Add the spinach and toss until it wilts.
Seared Salmon on Coconut Spinach
This recipe is so good! The salmon gets a kick from the ginger and a mellow earthiness from the sesame oil and soy sauce. The coconut spinach is a little spicy from the chili paste and the chili peppers, but it's perfectly tamed with the coconut milk. You really do want to serve this over something to soak up that amazing sauce.
Seared Salmon on Coconut Spinach
Ingredients
Salmon
- 4 salmon filets about 6 oz in size
- 2 teaspoons ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Coconut Spinach
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 red chili peppers seeded and chopped
- 2 tablespoons Asian Chili Paste or less
- 13.5 ounce coconut milk canned
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 bunches spinach stems removed, washed
Instructions
- In a shallow dish combine the ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce. Add the salmon flesh side down. Marinate for 10 minutes.
- While the salmon is marinating, place the garlic, chili peppers and chili paste in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- Stir in the coconut milk and the lemon juice and simmer for about 4 minutes. Add the spinach using tongs a little at a time, stirring as it wilts. Reduce heat to low to keep it warm.
- Heat a non stick skillet over high heat. Remove the salmon from the marinade and place flesh side down in the pan. Sear for 3 minutes and then turn over. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
- To serve place spinach on a plate and top with salmon. (Can be served over rice or noodles.)
Nutrition
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Update Notes: This was originally published in 2007 and has been updated for 2019.
J. Hagstrom says
These flavors are amazing together! I love that I can search for three ingredients and find an outstanding recipe like this. Thank you!! I used frozen spinach and canned salmon from my stockpile and it was so good, I will have to try fresh.
Michelle says
Yum, yum, yum! I never would have thought of this flavor combo, but it sounds so good
Jessica Formicola says
This salmon was so flavorful and delicious! But the coconut spinach really put it over the top!
Noelle says
My favorite part was the coconut spinach, great add thank you!
Iryna says
What a delicious looking recipe! I love seared salmon and sautéed spinach. I've never actually thought of adding other ingredients in spinach except for maybe garlic, so I'm definitely intrigued and need to try your recipe soon.
Tristin Rieken says
What a deliciously simple but PERFECT healthy recipe! This is jam packed with all the flavors I crave and your photos are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!!
Anonymous says
I love this recipe. Big fan of Donna Hay. I serve this dish on a large plate with a side of steamed string beans and some tasty pink eye spuds. No rice . Very delicious. 🙂
l o v e l y d e s i g n says
Thank you for blogging about this recipe - I know exactly what you mean about it being so good you can't shut up about it. I felt like such a nerd the other night, eating and constantly complimenting my cooking! But, it is that good, yes? 🙂
Lydia Hamre says
I'm definitely going to try this...The paring of flavors you have going here at fabulous!
Patricia Scarpin says
Oh, Pam, your photo is great, sweetie! It's making my mouth water and that is definitely something since I have just started eating my lunch! 🙂
And Donna Hay really rocks! 🙂
Kevin says
The coconut spinach sounds really interesting! Bookmarked to try! Pairing it with salmon sounds perfect as well.
Pam says
Peter, thanks! It really is so good!
Peter M says
Pam, your salmon looks great, from the pan-fry and soy.
The flavours sound good, I'd eat at your place anytime!