Forget greasy takeaways and bland fish! Dive into this oven-baked feast of sticky asian glazed salmon and crispy wedges bursting with sweet-umami flavours. No frying, no fuss, and ready in under an hour!
There’s no denying the Brits (and their Aussie counterparts) just absolutely love their fish and chips! But it’s not the healthiest meal – with all the frying that goes on – so it’s a rare treat for us, saved usually for beach trips or picnics.
I’ve seen so many twists on fish and chips – grilled fish with roasted chips being the most popular. But I’ve never liked grilled fish as I often found it blandly seasoned with only a bit of lemon/garlic/parsley. Anyone else agree?
Rewind 4 years, I find myself standing in the kitchen wondering what to make with some basa (swai) fillets for my partner. We’d only been together for a couple of months so I wanted to impress, of course. So… I did what I knew best – I concocted a mix of all the sauces I could find in the pantry! Needless to say, those fillets vanished (I have never seen someone eat food so quickly, I still tease him about it to this day 😂) and the recipe became a regular.
In today’s version, I use the glaze on salmon fillets and bake them in the oven. However when I first made this dish, I pan grilled the fillets while continually brushing with the sauce and flipping until sticky and cooked through.
Ingredients for Asian Glazed Salmon & Crispy Wedges
This incredible dinner comes together with only 9 ingredients.
- Salmon fillets – You can substitute the salmon with any fish fillet of your preference. Adjust baking time to suit the thickness of the fillets you use. Both white-fleshed and pink-fleshed fish work excellently with this sauce.
- Potatoes – Use a great all-rounder potato (for baking, frying and boiling) such as the brushed Sebago potato. You can read a bit more about this in my Creamy Chicken & Potato Bake recipe.
- Sunflower oil – To drizzle over the wedges in order to bake them to crispy perfection. Any neutral oil you have on hand can be substituted.
- Sea salt – To salt the potatoes for par boiling and roasting.
- Kecap manis – This is a sweet soy sauce that is thicker in consistency to regular soy sauce. It caramelises as it cooks contributing to the finished texture of the glaze.
- Fish sauce – Adds a deep umami flavour with a good dose of salt to the asian glaze.
- Sweet chilli – Adds a small amount of heat to the glaze and balances the saltiness of the fish sauce.
- Peanut oil – This adds a subtle nutty flavour to the glaze. It can be substituted with any neutral oil of choice.
- Fresh garlic – Fragrant garlicky goodness rounds off the glaze from 3 minced cloves of fresh garlic.
Easy Asian Glaze Step-by-Step
Well first, you’re better off measuring your ingredients rather than eyeballing them – which I still do to this day! 😂 Simply crush 3 cloves of garlic (sub 3 tsp garlic powder if you’re out), and add to it equal parts of peanut oil, kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), and sweet chilli sauce.
I often substitute the peanut oil with sunflower oil (or any other neutral oil I have on hand) and a small dash of sesame oil. Lastly, I add about 4 dashes of fish sauce and give everything a good mix. The asian glaze is ready to use.
The Best Asian Glaze Recipe on the Internet
I don’t say that statement lightly, and here’s why. There’s a whole science behind perfecting the balance of flavours in cooking. In this glaze, the sweetness from the kecap manis is balanced with the saltiness from the fish sauce. Crushed garlic adds an additional layer of flavour, and sweet chilli adds a subtle heat to the glaze.
The oil in the sauce is essential for several reasons. Flavours often like to stick to fat molecules, meaning the fat prolongs the release of those flavours in our mouths (which means you enjoy the taste for longer). Adding fat also affects the texture of the final product. In this case, the sugars from the kecap manis and sweet chilli, along with the fat from the oil will caramelise and crisp up all over the fish.
Asian Glazed Salmon & Crispy Wedges in 4 Easy Steps
- Par boil washed and peeled potatoes until firm on the inside but tender at the edges. Place in a baking tray, set aside to cool, then drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt.
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Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F or 180°C fan forced and make the asian glaze by combining all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.
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Bake the wedges uncovered until outer edges begin to form a light crisp and cooked through. Remove wedges from the oven and place salmon fillets directly on wedges.
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Pour 2/3 of asian glaze over both fillets and return to oven to cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour the remaining sauce over the fillets and return to the oven for until sauce caramelises and fish is cooked through.
Can I make Asian Galzed Salmon in an Air Fryer?
Yes. An air fryer is essentially a minified fan forced oven, so this recipe can be successfully done in an air fryer. Air fryers cook significantly faster than ovens, so be sure to adjust the cooking times and temperatures accordingly. Check your appliance’s manual for specific instructions.
Asian Glazed Salmon & Crispy Wedges
Ingredients
- 2 salmon fillets
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled, each cut into 8 wedges
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- a pinch of sea salt
For the glaze
- 1/4 cup kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
- 1/4 cup peanut oil, (see note below)
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce, (about 4 dashes from the bottle)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add wedges and cook for about 5 minutes, until firm on the inside but tender at the edges.Drain and place wedges in baking tray to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F or 180°C fan forced.When wedges are cool enough to handle, drizzle with sunflower oil and lightly salt. Toss gently.Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or until outer edges begin to form a light crisp skin.
- Meanwhile, make the asian glaze by combining the kecap manis, sweet chilli sauce, oil, minced garlic and fish sauce. Mix well.
- Remove wedges from the oven and place salmon fillets directly on wedges. Pour 2/3 of the asian glaze over both fillets and return to the oven to cook for 10 minutes.Finally, pour the remaining sauce over the fillets and return to the oven for 5 minutes until sauce caramelises, fish is cooked through, and potatoes are deeply golden. Serve.
Notes
Tried it? Let me know if you liked it!
Let’s hear it! Did you whip up this sticky-sweet-crispy masterpiece? Leave a comment with how you went, rate the recipe so others can find it, and share your creations on Instagram with @tilgoldenbrown #tilgoldenbrown so I can so I can feature them!
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