Roasted sticky chilli salmon is a dish full of Asian flavours that makes for a delicious evening meal. The original recipe comes from the Mind Food magazine. My friend Lucy made this for me one night and I absolutely loved it, so I chose to cook this for my Mum on her birthday. For a Summery meal you could serve the salmon topped with steamed, slivered asparagus and accompanied by a salad. Stir-fried asian greens and steamed rice turns this meal into a more substantial dinner. The recipe uses a side of salmon, but you can adapt it to however many people you are cooking for. I served individual salmon pieces to feed four. You can also half the quantities of the marinade if you are feeding less.

 Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2kg side fresh salmon or you could use individual salmon pieces pre cut from the supermarket.
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 2 limes, juice and zest
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves, very finely shredded
• 5cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
• 2 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), normal soy sauce can be used instead
• 2 red chillis, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 shallots, finely diced

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• If you buy a side, prepare salmon by trimming away any fatty side pieces or uneven ends. Using sharp, strong tweezers, remove the bones that appear down the centre spine of the salmon. Or if you are lazy like me, buy the boneless salmon pieces prepared by the supermarket.
• In a glass jug, mix together the maple syrup, lime juice and zest, lemon zest, kaffir lime leaves, ginger, soy sauce, chillis and shallots. Season to taste. Depending on what is available, you can use only lemons, or only limes (it still tastes good).
• Brush mixture liberally over the flesh side of the fish. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

• Place fish on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes if using a side of salmon or 6-8 minutes if using individual pieces. Baste with excess marinade and cook until salmon is still slightly pink on the inside and opaque on the outside.

If you are wanting to serve your salmon with asian greens I recommend the following recipe/method. The quantities below serves 2, so just double/triple/quadriple the quantities depending on how many have managed to pop in for tea.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of mixed fresh vegetables (we used broccoli and bok choy)
• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 2-3 Tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil for cooking

Method:

• Heat the oil in the wok over medium heat, add the vegetables and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add in the oyster sauce, salt and sugar and stir fry for 1 minute.
• Pour in water and continue to stir fry until vegetables are just cooked, but still crunchy. You may need to add more water if it becomes dry.

Enjoy!