Christmas is like secondhand smoke even if you don’t celebrate you can inhale it because it’s in the air. Every year, around this time, some of our friends throw parties to celebrate the season. But due to extended COVID 19 restrictions, there were no such gatherings outside of our bubble. I always secretly wished we could just stay home and have our own intimate celebration and this year the stay home order came as a blessing.
We had a fabulous dinner at home with our daughter. Now that she has left the nest and comes home every weekend, our meals are a lot of fun. There’s no better feeling than that. The holiday season can mean different things to different people, but it’s common values are those of joy, gratitude and family. And especially in this tough year it was the perfect opportunity to spend additional time with family and bond more than we could have in previous times.
My daughter helped me cook and my husband looked after the cocktails. I made Firecracker salmon. It’s one of those pop into the oven kind of recipes which is simple, yet so delicious and good looking. Perfect for special occasions, including holidays, and random days. I have been making a lot of salmon lately because my husband has almost stopped eating chicken. And if you don’t eat salmon you could try this recipe with halibut or even chicken, but truthfully I have never made it past salmon. My daughter made Brazilian cheese bread and roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts to accompany firecracker salmon.
This recipe really packs a punch because the primary ingredient is chili. But don’t worry its not burning your tongue kind. Too much heat kills the flavor of fish and I’m all about flavor. You’ll love the fiery, sweet, and slightly tangy flavor. I have rubbed the salmon fillets with salt and red chili powder before marinating. The finger licking sauce is a combination of frank’s red hot sauce and sambal olek along with a splash of lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, brown sugar for slight sweetness, soy sauce, and orange juice to loosen the marinade so you have some extra to drizzle after the salmon is cooked. You can marinate the salmon for as long as you can. When had with vegetables and cheese bread it helps take the heat away and is a perfect accompaniment.
Upon finishing our dinner we headed to the home theater to watch another episode of “This is us” and have a slice of yule log cake that I made at my daughter’s request.
My husband said this was the best holiday dinner he ever had. The recipe is a keeper and would even make a superb New Year dinner. Oh, did I mention, to make this meal even better my husband made the classic Holiday Mule.
If you make this firecracker salmon remember to snap a picture and tag me @simpleglutenfreekitchen on Facebook or Instagram. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life!
Thank you for being here and happy new year!
Fiery, sweet and slightly tangy. Simple enough for everyday meal, but nice enough for company.
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillet ( 8.8 oz each) ( I used fresh Atlantic salmon)
- Cilantro for garnish
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp coconut brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
- 2 tbsp sambal olek
- 2 tbsp frank hot sauce (original)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and red chili powder
- 1 tbsp oil
Instructions
- First, rub the salmon fillets with salt and red chili powder.
- Place them in a greased baking dish.
- In a bowl, whisk together the ginger & garlic paste, soy sauce, hot sauce, sambal olek, brown sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice to combine.
- Pour it over the salmon making sure the entire salmon is covered.
- Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bring the salmon out of the fridge.
- Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat with a tbsp of oil.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish and sear the salmon, without moving, skin side up (if you are using the fillets with skin), until golden and crisp, about 2-3 minutes.
- Carefully transfer to the baking dish (skin side down) and repeat with remaining salmon. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Note that the baking time could vary depending on the thickness of the salmon.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve immediately.
Rahul @samosastreet
The salmon looks perfectly cooked. Beautiful pictures Balvinder. Happy Holidays !!
angiesrecipes
The salmons are mouthwatering and it looks like that you had a fantastic celebration 🙂
Judee
Your sauce looks absolutely delicious! Hope you had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed your beautiful dinner.
evi erlinda
Super yummy dinner, Balvinder!
The salmon looks so good and savory.
Happy New Year!
Azlin Bloor
I absolutely love the recipe, Balvinder. Salmon is my favourite fish, and when it’s baked liked this, simply but with spices, it definitely shines!
I love your description of Christmas as second hand smoke!
Jeff the Chef
What a delicious looking meal!
Maria
The whole spread looks so beautiful, so cosy and intimate! The fish is definitely the star of the show. Even the name is so tempting for someone like me who like their food hot. I too prefer a calm dinner at home with Family on such occasions. This year we are sorely missing Wisha.
Pattie
This sounds magnificent! I don’t have the sambal olek, but am ordering some right now. I love salmon and am always looking for new recipes. Many thanks. Happy New Year!
Kelly | Foodtasia
Balvinder, I love the flavors with this salmon! Such a wonderful dish!
sonia
Hello Balvinder, Delicious recipe and a great way to kick start the year. Thanks for sharing and wish you happy new year!
Balvinder
Hi Sonia,
Happy New year to you!
2pots2cook
Perfect festive abundant table for the family ! I wish you and your loved ones have plenty of health and joy in 2021. !
Aarthi
Great presentation ,and mouth watering food , Balvinder! Firecarcker salmon looks perfectly glazed with the sauce. A very happy new year to you and your family!
Abbe@This is How I Cook
What a wonderful dinner! I love salmon and honestly everything else on that table! Have a happy new year Balvinder!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
This really is such a beautiful sauce. Sweet and tangy compliment salmon so perfectly!
Raymund
I love that secondhand smoke analogy, I the Philippines you can feel the Christmas from September, how crazy is that, they call it “Ber” months. Anyways that salmon looks like its packed with tons of flavour, love it!
John / Kitchen Riffs
Such a terrific recipe! I love spicy stuff, and salmon has more then enough flavor to stand up to all the heat in this dish. Really nice – thanks. And Happy New Year!
Laura
Awesome recipe, Balvinder! I’m always looking for new salmon recipes and this one sounds like one I will totally love! Glad you had a nice holiday! And thanks for the recipe!