Recipe: Pan-Seared Salmon with Ginger-Lime Sauce and Peanuts (Vietnamese)

PAN-SEARED SALMON WITH GINGER-LIME SAUCE AND PEANUTS

1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 (6 to 7 ounces each) skinless salmon fillets
2 cloves garlic, sliced
3 cups Asian celery or hothouse cucumbers*
1/3 cup chopped Asian basil
TO SERVE:
1/3 cup Ginger-Lime Sauce (recipe follows)
3 tablespoons roasted peanuts, chopped

Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick frying pan over moderate heat. Cook the salmon fillets until they're golden and just done, 3 to 4 minutes on each side depending on the thickness.

About 2 minutes before the salmon is done, add the garlic slices to the oil to flavor the fish. Remove the salmon and garlic and drain on paper towels.

Combine the celery with the basil in a small bowl.

TO SERVE:
Place a small amount of the celery mixture on individual plates. Arrange the salmon fillet on top, garnish with the celery mixture and sprinkle a few pieces of the cooked garlic on top. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the Ginger-Lime Sauce, top with peanuts and serve immediately.

*If using hothouse cucumbers, they should be seeded, cut lengthwise into thin strands, soaked in cold water to crisp, then completely drained.

GINGER-LIME SAUCE
Makes about 1 cup

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
3 Thai chilies or 1 Serrano chile, chopped
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons fish sauce*
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons water

Combine the garlic, chilies, sugar, ginger, fish sauce, lime juice and water in a small bowl and stir well. Let the flavors develop by setting the sauce aside for 30 minutes before serving.

*Fish sauce, known as nuoc mam, is the quintessential seasoning in Vietnamese cooking. Varieties are available in better supermarkets and Asian markets.

Makes 4 servings
Source: Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham