Seasoned salmon is seared in a pan, broken into chunks, and tossed with tomato, cucumber, onion, chilies, sweet ripe mango, cilantro and calamansi juice.
Cook’s notes
Salty, sweet, tangy and spicy. It’s a one bowl meal that’s perfect for lunch on a blistering day.
The inspiration came from a cookbook. Years ago, my older daughter, Sam, gave me a book of salmon recipes for Christmas. Yes, she knew very well what my favorite fish is. This salad is based on one of the recipes in the book. Loosely based, I have to say, because it was written by an American and the ingredients are meant for people living in America. I had to make substitutions and introduce a few modifications.
If you need to dial down the heat some more, slit them, scrape off and discard the seeds, before slicing thinly.
Citrus salt to season the fish
I’m a fan of Badia, a Hispanic food company that sells flavored salt among other things (no, this is not a sponsored post). I used one of their products, citrus salt, to season my salmon. If you can’t get it from your local grocery, just grind together coarse salt, lime (or lemon) zest and chili flakes.Chilies for a little kick
While citrus salt already contains chili flakes, the heat is mild and I didn’t want the little heat to be concentrated in the fish. I wanted something bolder for the salad so I added thinly sliced finger chilies to the vegetable mix. In the Philippines, we call them siling haba. It’s bright green, five to seven inches long, with moderate heat. The closest substitute would be jalapeno.
If you need to dial down the heat some more, slit them, scrape off and discard the seeds, before slicing thinly.
Calamansi juice for the dressing
The fish has salt and the salad mix has sweet mango so the only remaining flavor to add was acid. I chose calamansi juice. If unavailable in your region, lemon or lime juice will do, but note that the level of acidity will vary so add more or less depending on how tangy you want your salad.To get the most out of your mangoes, see how to cut and skin ripe mango.
Seared salmon and mango salad
Ingredients
Salmon
- 300 to 400 grams skinless salmon fillet or fillets (10 to 14 oz)
- 2 teaspoons citrus salt (or mix 1½ teaspoons salt, ¼ teaspoon lime or lemon zest, and ¼ teaspoon chili flakes) plus more to garnish
- 2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
Salad mix and dressing
- 3 to 4 tomatoes cored and cut into half-inch cubes
- 1 cucumber (peeled, unpeeled or partially peeled) cored and cut into half-inch cubes
- 1 yellow onion peeled and cut into quarter-inch cubes
- 2 to 3 green chilies thinly sliced
- 1 to 2 sweet ripe mango peeled, stone discarded and cut into half-inch cubes
- cilantro (as much or as little as you lke) torn into pieces
- calamansi juice (or lemon or lime juice) as much or as little as you like
Instructions
Marinate the salmon
- Press the fiillet (or fillets) between stacks of paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Spread the salt on the entire surface.
- Place in a covered container and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least half an hour.
Sear the salmon
- Heat the sesame seed oil in a non-stick frying pan.
- Over high heat, lower the salmon fillet in the hot oil (if using smaller fillets, spread them in a single layer) and leave until the underside is lightly browned. Flip and brown the topside. Do not overcook.
- Remove the fish from the pan and, using two forks, break into chunks.
Toss the salad
- Place the tomato, cucumber, onion, chilies, mango and cilantro in a bowl and toss.
- Add the salmon chunks and toss to distribute evenly.
- Drizzle in about two tablespoons calamansi juice and toss. Taste, add more juice if needed.
- Sprinkle in more citrus salt and garnish with more cilantro before serving.
Hibiscus (roselle) juice