When it comes to seafood, common knowledge tells us to cook it hot and fast, so when I saw slow roasted Steelhead on the menu at the  in Newberg Oregon, I was skeptical. I guess curiosity won over my skepticism because I ordered it.
The dish as a whole was a disaster. There was so much going on I can’t even remember half the things in/on/around the steelhead, but the limp overdressed arugula and prosciutto were memorable as was the fact that the dish was sooo salty I couldn’t taste much of anything else. Though in all fairness to the restaurant, the service was very friendly and the appetizer and dessert were both good.
So if it sounds bad and tasted bad, why would I make my own rendition?
As I said, the dish as a whole was a disaster. The slow roasted Steelhead on the other hand was transformational! As I was eating it, I went back and forth between oral bliss as the Steelhead melted into a pool of flavor on my tongue and utter indignation over the travesty that was on my fork.
Determined to fix this injustice I spent the next few days contemplating what I’d pair with the moist and melty morsels. This peanut and spicy red curry sauce melds perfectly with the creaminess and earthiness of the roasted salmon while the crispy, sweet and minty slaw strikes a pleasing juxtaposition, that will cool your palette and bring a smile to your face.
A couple things to note, use the best sockeye salmon or steelhead trout you can find (wild and line caught ideally). When making the sauce, don’t let it boil as the oil will separate (I turned my back for a few minutes as I was reheating it and it boiled which is why the photo doesn’t look so great).
Ingredients
For roast
-
500
grams
salmon (Sockeye or Steelhead filets that are relatively uniform in thickness)
-
1
tablespoon
brown sugar
-
1/4
teaspoon
salt
for sauce
-
1
clove
garlic (pressed or minced)
-
1
teaspoon
ginger (minced)
-
1
teaspoon
coriander seed (ground)
-
1/2
teaspoon
garam masala (or curry powder)
-
1/4
teaspoon
cumin (ground)
-
1.5
teaspoons
Thai red curry paste
-
1
tablespoon
unsweetened peanut butter
-
1/2
cup
coconut milk
-
1
teaspoon
fish sauce
-
1/2
teaspoon
brown sugar (omit if you're using sweetened peanut butter)
for slaw
-
1
cup
sugar snap peas (blanched)
-
1/4
cup
peanuts (toasted roughly chopped)
-
1
tablespoon
mint (minced)
-
2
teaspoons
rice vinegar
-
1
teaspoon
fish sauce
Steps
-
About 30 minutes before putting it in the oven sprinkle a large pinch of brown sugar and small pinch of salt on each salmon fillet and rub onto the flesh side, cover and let them come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
-
Place the salmon fillets on a roasting pan and put them in the oven. Depending on the thickness of your fillets, how cold they are and how accurate your oven temp is, the fish could take anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour. You don't want to check it so often that you let all the heat out of the oven, but the best way to tell if it's done is to stick a fork in it and see if it flakes easily.
-
To make the sauce heat a saucepan. Add the oil, garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant. Add the coriander seed, garam masala, cumin, and curry paste and mash together with the garlic and ginger until the spices give off a nice fragrance. Add the peanut butter and mash it all together into a smooth paste. Turn down the heat and add the coconut milk, whisking to combine into a smooth sauce. Heat until it just comes to a simmer but do not boil.
-
For the slaw, wash and de-string the snap peas. Boil a large pot of well salted water. Drop the peas in the boiling water and lightly blanch (less than a minute). Drain and immediately rinse with cold water. Using a sharp knife slice the snap peas lengthwise into thin strips. Mince the mint and add it to the slaw along with the peanuts. When you're ready to serve it dress the slaw with the fish sauce and vinegar (if you do it too early the vinegar will discolor the peas and mint).
-
When the salmon is done just plate each fillet and cover with the sauce. It goes nicely with some jasmine rice.
White On Rice Couple says
Steelhead trout is something I need to look up here. I haven’t had this yet, but am looking forward to it soon.
Sorry to hear that the dish was so bad, but at least the fish was good. At least all your money wasn’t to waste!
BUT…your rendition looks fab! And I love the sauce!
diva says
mmm i do love peanut sauces. looks awesome. sorry to hear the dish wasn’t too fantastic but wow, it’s inspired this!
gorgeous.
to think i had baked smoked salmon with some veg for lunch today — plain as hell. oh well. it makes me superbly studenty. 🙂
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
That peanut cutter curry sauce sounds really good and even better on salmon!
Heather says
Aww, too bad you didn’t get a chance to wander in to some fine(r) dining in P-town. The only other restaurant I’ve been to out there in Yamhill County similarly oversalted everything. Must be something in the wine that ruins the chefs’ ability to properly season food (I swear those crabcakes gave me kidney stones).
Good on you for fixing it.
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
That peanut cutter curry sauce sounds really good and even better on salmon!
Ginny says
Looks great to me! Love the idea! 🙂
Ginny says
Looks great to me! Love the idea! 🙂
michelle @ TNS says
i have some halibut that needs cooking as well as a bag of snap peas from my CSA box, and i think a slightly lighter version of this will grace my table tonight.
of course, i don’t know how, exactly, i’m going to do that yet.
michelle @ TNS says
i have some halibut that needs cooking as well as a bag of snap peas from my CSA box, and i think a slightly lighter version of this will grace my table tonight.
of course, i don’t know how, exactly, i’m going to do that yet.
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks! Happy New Year! So glad to hear you and your friend enjoyed this!
Joey & Quynh says
Hi Marc!
Made this recipe the night before last because it sounded DELICIOUS. You mention curry paste in the directions but *not* in the ingredients. Not the end of the world (I added red curry paste to taste), but might want to add that in for others!
Sauce was scrumptious and the concept of slow-roasting salmon had never previously crossed my mind. Thanks for all that you do!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Joey & Quynh, thanks for letting me know. I’m glad to hear this turned out for you even with the missing quantities. This is a very old recipe, and unfortunately it looks like some things got dropped during one of our moves. I’ve filled in the missing ingredients. If you run into anything like this again, please let me know as I have backups of the recipes I can fix it from.
Nadine says
This was a fun experiment! It won’t be a regular like your Teriyaki Salmon instantly became in my home, but the freshness of the slaw with the soft salmon and depth of the peanut curry sauce was surprisingly enjoyable