Chili Crisp Salmon is going to become a weeknight staple for you. If you are obsessed with this Chinese condiment as much as I am, you are going to love making a sauce out of it and topping it on pan-fried salmon fillets. What I love most about this weeknight-friendly recipe is that it uses mostly pantry staples. Of course, I took the liberty of assuming that you’re obsessed with chili crisp as much as most of the world is at the moment. It’s a staple in any modern kitchen these days! The prep time on this recipe is minimum, and the cooking times are the bare minimum too. I serve this salad with my take on the viral TikTok cucumber sweet pepper salad. I load it up with ginger, toasted sesame oil, brown sugar, more chili crisp, and furikake. Furikake is a seasoning made with seaweed powder, toasted sesame seeds, bonito flakes, sea salt, and sugar.
Ingredients for Chili Crisp Salmon:
Salmon Fillet: I like to use 4 (5-ounce) salmon filets for this recipe. I typically suggest using wild-caught salmon if it’s possible, however, Atlantic salmon or farm-raised salmon will also work.Kosher salt: is used to season the salmon filets before we sear them in the pan.Garlic: Minced garlic goes into the chili crisp sauce that we drizzle on the salmon right before serving.Low sodium soy sauce: gives the chile crisp sauce a salty umami-rich flavor. Honey: we’ll toss the salmon filets in the sauce so that the pan caramelizes the sugar in the honey and gives the salmon a deep flavor. You could also use dark brown sugar in place of the honey if that’s what you have.Chili Crisp: If you haven’t tried chili crisp or chili onion crunch before, it’s a condiment made from dried chili pepper infused in oil with other ingredients, such as spices, onions, shallots, or sichuan pepper. Lao Gan Ma is a popular Chinese brand sold in Asian grocery stores as well as many mainstream grocery stores. Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp and Momofuku are two others that are quickly becoming leaders of the chili crisp movement that we’re currently having!Toasted sesame oil: Adds a toasty smell and flavor to the chili crisp.
How to make chili crisp salmon:
Other salmon recipes to try:
Oven Baked Salmon in FoilSheet Pan Firecracker SalmonSweet Chili Salmon BowlsCrispy Rice Spicy SalmonBroiled Miso Ginger Salmon and Veggies
Cucumber Sweet Pepper Salad: Toss 4 sliced Persian cucumbers with 8-10 sweet peppers in a medium bowl. Add 1 tsp of chili crisp, 1 heaping tbsp of brown sugar, 1 tsp of ginger paste, 1½ tsp of sesame oil, lots of toasted sesame seeds, and at least 1 tsp of furikake. Taste and adjust with a big pinch of salt or as needed.Make this gluten-free: Use gf tamari in place of the soy sauce and make sure the chili crunch you use is gluten-free.
