Salmon Parcels with Sweet Chili Sauce

You will love this beautiful recipe from my talented friend Wey. It’s healthy, original and absolutely delightful to the taste buds.

The first two times I made this dish were quite some time ago, when I was just starting on my kitchen adventures. I remember that on both occasions, though the end product was more than edible, it was quite a harrowing experience. Lots of trouble finding filo pastry in the supermarket, lots of trouble handling the filo pastry once I bought it, trouble figuring out when the salmon was cooked enough but not overcooked. Oh the woes of novice cooking!

Thankfully, a lot of time and many kitchen tirades later, this recipe is now easy-breezy. When I tried it this week (with a few minor modifications) I was surprised how simple it seemed, and realized that I had come some ways since I made it last.

This recipe really is gorgeous, and wonderful for dinner parties. As Wey says, you can make all your parcels ahead of time and refrigerate them. Then when your guests arrive, just pop them into the oven and you’re all set.

So here you go, my adaptation of Wey’s glorious recipe for Salmon Parcels with Sweet Chili Sauce.

Salmon Parcels with Sweet Chili Sauce
(adapted from Only Slightly Pretentious Food)

Please click here for printable recipe.

Ingredients (serves 2 if this is all you’re eating, otherwise 4 if this is part of a full meal):

• 2 salmon fillets, cleaned, descaled and preferably boneless (If you’re serving this to a party of 4, cut each fillet in half.)
• One big-thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated or thinly sliced with a peeler
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 big lime or 2 smaller limes
• 1 sprig of parsley (Wey used Chinese parsley but I prefer the milder taste of English parsley for this dish. If you are a lover of Chinese parsley go ahead and use that.)
• 1 stalk of spring onion
• 2 heaping tbsp of raisins or cranberries (I love golden raisins so I used those.)
• 2 sheets of filo pastry (4 sheets if you’re serving 4 persons)
• Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (I’ve used Tiger and Sin Sin. The Tiger one is more sour, while Sin Sin is sweeter. Both work well.)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 150 degC.

2. Place the salmon fillets into a freezer bag. Throw in the ginger and chopped garlic, then squeeze in the lime juice. Marinade for twenty minutes.

3. Chop the parsley and spring onion finely. Coarsely chop the raisins/cranberries.

4. This step is much clearer if you look at the pictures below!

Repeat with the other salmon fillets.

5. Place salmon fillets on a baking tray and pop the tray into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.

6. Serve hot with some sweet chili sauce on the side. You can also dilute and drizzle some of the sauce over the salmon fillets after you break open the pastry.

Here are some shots of the process:

Here’s a salmon parcel fresh out of the oven:

And a perfectly cooked salmon fillet. Matte on the outside, shiny and juicy on the inside.